White Jennifer A, Tallaksen J, Charvat I
Department of Plant Biology, University of Minnesota, 250 Biological Sciences Center, 1445 Gortner Avenue, St Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA.
Mycologia. 2008 Jan-Feb;100(1):6-11. doi: 10.3852/mycologia.100.1.6.
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) may play an important role in ecological succession, but few studies have documented the effectiveness of mycorrhizal inoculation at restoration/reclamation sites. At a roadside prairie restoration in Shakopee, Minnesota, we compared AMF root colonization and resulting vegetative cover among four inoculation treatments. After 15 mo of growth, we found that AMF colonization was high in all treatments but was significantly higher in treatments that received AMF inoculum propagated from a local prairie site or commercially available inoculum than the uninoculated control. For the prairie inoculum, this increase in colonization occurred whether the inoculum was applied with seeds in furrows or broadcast with seeds on the soil surface. However, increased colonization did not discernibly affect the restored vegetation; neither total vegetative cover nor the proportion "desired" prairie vegetation differed among inoculation treatments. By the end of the third growing season (27 mo after planting) there were no longer differences in AMF colonization among the inoculation treatments nor were there differences in vegetative cover. It is likely that natural recolonization of the plots by remnant AMF populations at the site limited the duration of the inoculation effect. This natural recolonization, in combination with relatively high soil phosphorus levels, likely rendered inoculation unnecessary. In contrast to previous published studies of AMF inoculation in landscape restorations, this study shows that AMF inoculation may not be warranted under some circumstances.
丛枝菌根真菌（AMF）可能在生态演替中发挥重要作用，但很少有研究记录菌根接种在恢复/复垦地点的有效性。在明尼苏达州沙科皮的一个路边草原恢复项目中，我们比较了四种接种处理下的AMF根系定殖情况以及由此产生的植被覆盖度。经过15个月的生长，我们发现所有处理中的AMF定殖率都很高，但与未接种的对照相比，接种来自当地草原地点繁殖的AMF接种物或市售接种物的处理中的定殖率显著更高。对于草原接种物，无论接种物是与种子一起条播还是与种子一起撒播在土壤表面，定殖率的这种增加都会发生。然而，定殖率的增加并没有明显影响恢复的植被；接种处理之间的总植被覆盖度或“理想”草原植被的比例没有差异。到第三个生长季结束时（种植后27个月），接种处理之间的AMF定殖率不再有差异，植被覆盖度也没有差异。很可能该地点残留的AMF种群对这些地块的自然再定殖限制了接种效果的持续时间。这种自然再定殖，加上相对较高的土壤磷水平，可能使得接种变得不必要。与先前发表的关于景观恢复中AMF接种的研究相比，本研究表明在某些情况下AMF接种可能没有必要。
