Some thoughts...

Hi everyone!

I'm going to post some ideas/thoughts/questions regarding our restoration subgroup.  I'm going to keep it very open and brainstorm some ideas here without thinking too much about whether or not we can address the questions with our given data.

-Does benefit to inoculation in a restoration setting differ depending on the fungal taxa used?

        *single versus mixed species

        *commercial versus home-grown

        *Glomeraceae versus Gigasporaceae (and other families)

-Does benefit of inoculation in a restoration setting depend on the site's proximity to native fungi?

-Does inoculation in a restoration setting provide benefits beyond plant biomass promotion (e.g. soil stabilization, plant fecundity)?

I'm excited to hear every else's ideas and get going on this project!

Bala

1) Does use of mycorrhizal inoculum increase restoration success?

• Specifically in the restoration of native grasslands of the Great Plains (warm vs. cool season dominated)

2) Comparison of native vs. commercial inoculum on grassland restoration success (warm vs. cool season dominated)

Mitch

Hello all,

I am also not entirely sure what level of detail or specificity we are looking for in the questions, however, the broad stroke questions I have revolve around when would a design group be able to best justify the cost of inoculation, and how can a design group quantify the probable effects in comparison to other techniques.

My current questions include:

1) What site characteristics have yielded the largest response to mycorrhizal inoculum?

2) What is the relative effectiveness of mycorrhizal inoculum, when compared to fertilization, watering, and/or other techniques used to increase the speed or success of restoration? 

Hello all,

Here is my topic of interest:

Native plant restoration is typically conducted on areas previously influenced by an anthropogenic disturbance. The category of disturbance, ranging from former agricultural land to severely degraded post-mine areas, will ultimately determine baseline conditions for the restoration project. Previous land use thus dictates abiotic (e.g. soil organic matter content, heavy metal concentration, soil stability) and biotic (e.g. mycorrhizal inocula potential, microbial legacy, seed bank) factors that mediate plant growth in the field. The relative contribution of arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculation to native plant response may differ with preliminary soil properties.

I would like to explore the following questions with the restoration meta-analysis group…..
1) When restoring habitats with native plants, does the influence of AMF inoculum on plant growth responses vary with previous land use?
2) If so, which previous land use benefits most from AMF inoculation?
3) Does a species of AMF influence plant performance differently when applied in dissimilar previous land use types?

I am interested in questions pertaining to using mycorrhizae in a restoration project framework, and how effective mycorrhizal fungi are in helping restore certain plant communities. Also I and interested to know  which variables were most effective in increasing restoration success. This information will be useful in the context of the large scale restoration project that I’m participating in for my dissertation work in which we are planning on restoring a cottonwood riparian system after the removal of and in the presence of Tamarisk.

For my questions:

1.       Does the application of mycorrhizal inoculum from native site increase the success of restored plants?  This will include both EM and AM

2.       Does mycorrhizal inoculum maintain native vegetation or increase the growth of non natives? 

I apologize for the late post, have been out of town.  My broad interest is concerning the importance of restoring mycorrhizae compared to other system components and processes.  Where does it rank compared to other things, including vegetation, disturbances (e.g., fire, herbivory), trophic interactions, etc.  In the broad context of the restoration puzzle, how big is the mycorrhizae piece?  Is it big enough to worry about, or too small to even be considered.  Difficult to answer, and system specific, but important and interesting.

A couple of the suggestions that I like the most so far would include:

1.) A comparison of commercial and natural inoculums.

2.) What site characteristics have yielded the largest/smallest response to mycorrhizal inoculum.