Plant growth and their root development after inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in coal mine subsided areas

Yinli Bi,Hui Zou,Yanxu Zhang

doi:10.1007/s40789-018-0201-x

Abstract

Coal mining often cause serious land degradation, soil erosion, and desertification affecting growth of the local vegetation, especially the roots. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculation is considered a potential biotechnological tool for mined soil remediation because mycorrhizal fungi could improve plant growth environment, especially under adverse conditions due to their good symbiosis. A field experiment was conducted to study the ecological effects of AMF (Funneliformis mosseae, Rhizophagus intraradices) on the growth of Amygdalus pedunculata Pall. and their root development in the regenerated mining subsidence sandy land. The reclamation experiment included four treatments: inoculation of Funneliformis mosseae (F.m), inoculation of Rhizophagus intraradices (R.i), combined inoculation of F.m and R.i and non-inoculated treatment. Root mycorrhizal colonization, plant height, crown width, soil moisture, root morphology and certain soil properties were assessed. The results showed that AMF improved the shoot and root growth of Amygdalus pedunculata Pall., and significantly increased root colonization after 1 year of inoculation. Available phosphorus content, activities of phosphatase as well as electrical conductivity in soil rhizosphere of all the three inoculation treatments were higher than that of the non-inoculated treatment. AMF increased the quantity of bacteria and fungi in soil rhizosphere compared with the non-inoculated treatment. Our study indicates that revegetation with AMF inoculum could influence plant growth and root development as well as soil properties, suggesting that AMF inoculation can be effective method for further ecological restoration in coal mine subsided areas.

Highlights

China is the world’s largest coal producing and consuming country (Li et al 2011)
A field experiment was conducted to study the ecological effects of Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) (Funneliformis mosseae, Rhizophagus intraradices) on the growth of Amygdalus pedunculata Pall. and their root development in the regenerated mining subsidence sandy land
Our study indicates that revegetation with AMF inoculum could influence plant growth and root development as well as soil properties, suggesting that AMF inoculation can be effective method for further ecological restoration in coal mine subsided areas

Summary

Introduction

China is the world’s largest coal producing and consuming country (Li et al 2011). coal brings huge economic benefits to China, coal mining causes numerous environmental problems, such as drastic reduction in the number of biological communities in the reconstructed soil induced by any disturbance in coal mining, plant rootSoil microbiota communities play crucial role in maintaining the soil ecological balance as well as the sustainability of both natural ecosystem and agro-ecosystem. Beneficial rhizospheric microbe-plant interactions have a great influence on plant health and soil quality (Wu et al.2008) Among these beneficial rhizospheric microbes, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and plant-growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can be considered. Mycorrhizal symbiosis can be found in most types of ecological situations and most plant species are able to form this symbiosis naturally (Gong et al 2012). These associations occur naturally when plantlets are transplanted into the field, favouring plant development by increasing nutrient uptake, growth rates and hormonal activities (del Carmen Jaizme-Vega et al 2006; Chandanie et al 2009). Mycorrhizae may increase plant tolerance to stress conditions such as salinity and drought (Latef and He 2011), heavy metals (Tian et al 2013), root soil borne pathogens (Miller and Jastrow 1992) and the improvement of soil structure (Matthiasc et al 2010)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion