Field performance of conifer and hardwood species 5 years after nursery inoculation in the Canadian Prairie Provinces

Abstract

The field performance of conifer and hardwood species inoculated with different inoculation treatments was evaluated 5 or 3 years after outplanting in the field trials established in the Canadian Prairie Provinces. In conifer trials, the growth of white spruce, black spruce, lodgepole pine, and larch seedlings observed on different sites varied greatly to different inoculation treatments depending on plant and fungal species involved. Five years after outplanting, most of the introduced fungi were replaced by several indigenous ectomycorrhizal fungal species except for Laccaria bicolor strain. Survival rates of most of the inoculated seedlings were not significantly different from control seedlings naturally colonized by other resident fungi. In hardwood trial, the effects of nursery inoculation of different poplar clones, aspen and balsam poplar were very limited. Growth and survival data were combined into seedling volume and plot volume index (PVI) for measurement of total growth response of seedlings. Our results demonstrated that certain inoculated plant-fungus combinations have played a positive role during the initial establishment of these seedlings in the field, which was reflected on significantly greater stem volume and PVI compared to non-inoculated control seedlings. The results from this study provided useful information on field evaluation for potential benefits of mycorrhizal inoculation in nursery.