| Abstract Detail
Symbioses: Plant, Animal, and Microbe Interactions Anderson, Roger [1]. Growth and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal colonization of two prairie grasses grown in soil from three prairie restorations of varied ages. I compared growth and AM colonization of early (Elymus canadensis) and late (Schizachyrium scoparium) successional prairie grasses grown in soil from 2, 12, and 17 year-old prairie restorations. Fifteen soil samples were obtained from each prairie and analyzed for inorganic nutrients. Seedlings of both species were transplanted into separate plastic pots containing one of the 15 soil replicates from each site and grown for 90 days under greenhouse conditions. Data were analyzed using MANOVA with site and species being fixed effects. Response variables were root and shoot biomass, root/shoot ratio, and percent colonization. There were significant (P<0.01) effects due to site, species, and two-way interactions. Follow-up univariate ANOVA’s indicated significant site effects for shoot mass, site and site*species interactions for root mass and colonization, and significant main effects and interactions for root/shoot ratio. Elymus was more responsive to varied site conditions than Schizachyrium. There were significant differences in root mass and colonization among Elymus plants but not Schizachyrium plants grown in the soils from the three restorations. Elymus had higher colonization than Schizachyriumin soil from the youngest restoration and Schizachyrium had the highest colonization in soil from the oldest restoration, consistent with their successional status. For Schizachyrium there were no significant correlations between shoot mass, root mass or colonization and total nitrogen and available phosphorus. However, for Elymus there were positive correlations between total nitrogen and root and shoot mass but significant negative correlations between the two variables and phosphorus. Elymus colonization was positively correlated with phosphorus and negatively correlated with nitrogen. Elymus may be adapted to a wider range of environmental conditions than Schizachyrium or Schizachyrium may more effectively mitigate environmental variation than Elymus.
Log in to add this item to your schedule
1 - Illinois State University, Department of Biological Sciences, Campus Box 4120, Normal, Illinois, 61790-4120, USA
Keywords:
Elymus canadensis
Schizachyrium scoparium
arbuscular mycorrhiza
prairie restoration
succession
soil inorganic nutrients.
Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Topics
Session: P
Location: Exhibit Hall (Northeast, Southwest & Southeast)/Hilton
Date: Sunday, July 8th, 2007
Time: 8:00 AM
Number: P78004
Abstract ID:2054 |
