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U.S. Department of Energy
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Effects of endomycorrhizae on the establishment and growth of native shrubs on Paraho processed oil shale and disturbed native soil

Thesis/Dissertation ·
OSTI ID:5492391

The effects of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM) on the establishment and growth of native shrubs on Paraho processd oil shale and disturbed native soil were investigated in a series of field and greenhouse experiments. The most common endophytes associated with native plant species were Glomus fasciculatus and G. mosseae. Seedlings of fourwing saltbush, big sagebrush, rubber rabbitbrush, and greasewood were inoculated with both G. fasciculatus and G. mosseae in a containerized system in the greenhouse. Inoculated and noninoculated shrubs were outplanted into processed shale and disturbed native soil in the field, and transplanted into the same media in the greenhouse, to study the effects of VAM on plant growth, survival, nutritional status and water use efficiency. Mycorrhizal shrubs were more effective than nonmycorrhizal shrubs in the uptake of water and phosphorus and mycorrhizal plants had greater shoot biomass, cover and height than nonmycorrhizal plants. VAM enhanced the survival of big sagebrush and rubber rabbitbrush, but had little effect of fourwing saltbush and greasewood. VAM are discussed in terms of their roles in disturbed and undisturbed communities, and the reconstruction of semiarid and arid ecosystems.

OSTI ID:
5492391
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English