Abstract
Soil compaction is a limitation to establishment of native forest species on reclaimed surfacemined lands in Appalachia. Previously, non-native forage species such as tall fescue (Schedonorus arundinaceus(Schreb.) Dumort., nom. cons.) have been planted because they easily established on reclaimed mine soil. There is now interest in establishing robust native prairie species to enhance biodiversity and provide greater potential for root activity in the compacted soil. We conducted a 10-week glasshouse study comparing growth of “Pete” eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloidesL.), “Bison” big bluestem (Andropogon gerardiiVitman), and “Jesup MaxQ” tall fescue at soil bulk densities (BD) of 1.0, 1.3, and 1.5 g·cm-3. We also examined effects of arbuscular-mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on plant growthin relation to compaction. Sources of AMF were a reclaimed surface coal mine soil and a native tallgrass prairie soil. Shoot and root biomass of tall fescue and big bluestem were reduced at 1.5 BD while eastern gamagrass growth was not affected. Growth ofbig bluestem and eastern gamagrass was greaterwith AMF than without, butsimilar between AMF sources. Tall fescue growthwas not enhanced by AMF. Overall, tall fescue biomass was 3 times greater than eastern gamagrass and 6 times greater than big bluestem when comparing only AMF-colonized grasses. Eastern gamagrass and big bluestem are both slower to establish than tall fescue. Eastern gamagrass appears to be more tolerant of compaction, while big bluestem appears somewhat less tolerant.
Highlights
Soil compaction is a major limiting factor in restoring native vegetation on reclaimed surface mined land in the Appalachian coal mining region of the eastern USA [1,2,3,4,5]
Schubert and Hayman [55] found that arbuscular-mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) was not a benefit to plant growth when available soil P was greater than 50 mg·kg−1, suggesting that the low P soil used in this experiment was limiting for growth of plants without AMF
This may be due to WL AMF being associated with tall fescue and other cool-season grass on the reclaimed mine soil; big bluestem had greater colonization with WL than CL AMF, which would suggest that WL AMF may be more infective than CL AMF or that there is some degree of host specificity
Summary
Soil compaction is a major limiting factor in restoring native vegetation on reclaimed surface mined land in the Appalachian coal mining region of the eastern USA [1,2,3,4,5]. Tillage can reduce bulk density and improve water infiltration and has been used extensively in agriculture; deep tillage requires heavy equipment and high levels of energy input [12,13] and disrupts developing soil structure and beneficial micro-organisms such as AMF [14,15]. An alternative to tillage is to establish deep-rooting plant species that can penetrate the soil and increase organic matter and biological activity in compacted regions of the profile. Roots that grow into compacted soil create channels that increase water flow and root access of other species to deeper regions of the soil profile otherwise not available because of the compaction [7,16,17,18,19]. Using perennial species would eliminate the need for annual tillage, fertilization, and planting associated with annual cropping
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