Magnoli Susan M, Bever James D
Kansas Biological Survey and Center for Ecological Research, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA.
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA.
Ecol Appl. 2025 Apr;35(3):e70027. doi: 10.1002/eap.70027.
Restoration of soil microbial communities, and microbial mutualists in particular, is increasingly recognized as critical for the successful restoration of grassland plant communities. Although the positive effects of restoring arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi during the restoration of these systems have been well documented, less is known about the potential importance of nitrogen-fixing rhizobium bacteria, which associate with legume plant species that comprise an essential part of grassland plant communities, to restoration outcomes. In a series of greenhouse and field experiments, we examined the effects of disturbance on rhizobium communities, how plant interactions with these mutualists changed with disturbance, and whether rhizobia can be used to enhance the establishment of desirable native legume species in degraded grasslands. We found that agricultural disturbance alters rhizobium communities in ways that affect the growth and survival of legume species. Native legume species derived more benefit from interacting with rhizobia than did non-native species, regardless of rhizobia disturbance history. Additionally, slow-growing, long-lived legume species received more benefits from associating with rhizobia from undisturbed native grasslands than from associating with rhizobia from more disturbed sites. Together, this suggests that native rhizobia may be key to enhancing the restoration success of legumes in disturbed habitats.
恢复土壤微生物群落，尤其是微生物共生体，对于草地植物群落的成功恢复日益被视为至关重要。尽管在这些系统的恢复过程中恢复丛枝菌根真菌的积极作用已有充分记录，但对于固氮根瘤菌（其与构成草地植物群落重要组成部分的豆科植物物种相关联）对恢复结果的潜在重要性却知之甚少。在一系列温室和田间实验中，我们研究了干扰对根瘤菌群落的影响、植物与这些共生体的相互作用如何随干扰而变化，以及根瘤菌是否可用于促进退化草地中理想本地豆科植物物种的建立。我们发现农业干扰以影响豆科植物物种生长和存活的方式改变根瘤菌群落。无论根瘤菌的干扰历史如何，本地豆科植物物种与根瘤菌相互作用所获得的益处都比非本地物种更多。此外，生长缓慢、寿命较长的豆科植物物种与未受干扰的本地草地中的根瘤菌共生所获得的益处，比与受干扰程度更高的地点的根瘤菌共生更多。综合来看，这表明本地根瘤菌可能是提高受干扰生境中豆科植物恢复成功率的关键。
