CREST

The role of root associated fungi in saltmarsh restoration success

Nursery-raised plants are by far the major source of plants used in saltmarsh restoration projects. However when a local source of plants is unavailable they are imported from other states. Unfortunately a lack of information about genetic diversity, disease and potential invasive species present in these trans-state shipments may affect not only the restoration site, but also adjacent natural habitats. A better solution is to promote the local production of plants to maintain local genetic stock and minimize the introduction of unfamiliar diseases and pathogens to which native genotypes may have little or no resistance.

The costs of these restoration programs are often very high; the requirement for nursery plants to vegetate all these projects could easily be in the millions of plants, at a cost of $0.50 - $1.00 per plant. Clearly the economic benefits to developing better nursery protocols are substantial and strategies such as micropropagation are being developed to increase the number of plants that nurseries can produce. However, this is currently limited due to the time it takes for plants to reach adequate maturity for transplantation.

We are investigating the role of symbiotic root-associated fungi in raising saltmarsh nursery plants. These symbiotic fungi form associations with the roots of plants and are known as known as Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF). Nutrients taken up by AMF can lead to improved plant growth and reproduction. The benefits for plants with AMF can be characterized either agronomically by increased growth and yield, or ecologically by improved fitness (i.e., reproductive ability). Therefore, the introduction of AMF may have the potential to increase turn-around time and additionally increase the health of nursery saltmarsh plants.

This work is funded by CREST.

The Master's thesis resulting from this research is available as:

McBride, Kathryn Rondot, "Mycorrhizal Colonization of Native Salt Marsh Plants on Mississippi's Gulf Coast and the Effects of Commercial Mycorrhizal Inoculants on Nursery-Grown Plants" (2011). Master's Theses. 215.

https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/215