Field establishment of fourwing saltbush in processed oil shale and disturbed native soil as influenced by vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae
Seedlings of fourwing saltbush (Atriplex canescens (Pursh) Nutt.) were inoculated with indigenous vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi in a containerized system and transplanted into processed oil shale and disturbed native soil in a semiarid rangeland environment in northwestern Colorado. After two growing seasons in the field, plants inoculated with VAM had greater aboveground biomass, cover, and height than noninoculated plants. Mycorrhizal plants were more effective in the uptake of water and phosphorus. Infection levels of inoculated plants were greatly reduced in processed shale (from 13.0 at outplanting to 3.8 at harvest), but functional VAM associations could be found after two growing seasons. Results indicate that VAM help make processed oil shale a more tractable medium for the establishment of plants representative of later successional stages by allowing these plants to make effective use of the natural resources that are limiting under conditions of high stress. 39 references, 1 figure.
- Research Organization:
- Texas A and M Univ., College Station
- OSTI ID:
- 5715167
- Journal Information:
- Great Basin Nat.; (United States), Vol. 44:2
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
MYCORRHIZAS
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
REVEGETATION
SHRUBS
PLANT GROWTH
SPENT SHALES
LAND RECLAMATION
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
OIL SHALES
ROOT ABSORPTION
STIMULATION
SYNERGISM
ABSORPTION
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
DATA
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GROWTH
INFORMATION
MATERIALS
NUMERICAL DATA
PLANTS
UPTAKE
041000* - Oil Shales & Tar Sands- Environmental Aspects
510500 - Environment
Terrestrial- Site Resource & Use Studies- (-1989)
560303 - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology- Plants- (-1987)