ISSN:
1573-5036
Keywords:
Slender wheatgrass
;
Topsoil stockpiling
;
VAM
;
Decay rates
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
Notes:
Summary A greenhouse study was conducted to determine the effects of stockpiling prairie grassland topsoil for 3 years on mycorrhizal development and root and shoot production of slender wheatgrass. The vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi involved in the symbiosis were also assessed as was the decomposition potential of the soil. During the first week of growth, VAM development in grasses grown in the stockpiled soil lagged behind that observed for grasses in the undisturbed soil. However, by 3 weeks, the mycorrhizal infection in plants in the stockpiled soil had reached levels similar to that in plants in the undisturbed soil. The dominant species of VAM fungi involved in the symbiosis at 8 weeks after planting shifted fromGlomus fasciculatum in the undisturbed soil toG. mosseae in the stockpiled soil. The delay in initial VAM infection and shift in VAM fungal species did not significantly affect plant productivity which was greatest in the stockpiled soil. The greater shoot production exhibited by grasses in the stockpiled soil was attributed to higher levels of NO3-N in the stockpiled than undisturbed soil. The potential of the soil to decay dead slender wheatgrass roots was not altered by stockpiling.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02220769
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