The midwestern prairies of the US are in decline and restoration of native biodiversity has proven to be a difficult process. The restorative role of the below-ground microbial communities in human-disturbed landscapes is a vital one. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi have coexisted with land plants for millions of years, providing a number of benefits, but our understanding of how symbiosis affects plant traits is currently limited. In learning about how mycorrhizae affect prairie flora, we could be able to remedy soil communities that support their establishment. This study uses an exploratory approach to look into how AM fungal associations may affect the functional traits of these successional prairie species. Plant economic spectrum theory is based on the trade-off that plants make between growth and survival. The fast-growing end of the spectrum are “acquisitive” plants, which have high metabolic rates, less expensive structures, and short life spans. The slow-growing end of the spectrum are “conservative” plants that have lower metabolic rates, invest more in their structures, and live longer. The fast-growing lifestyle is often associated with early successional species which don’t require many resources and can colonize quickly. The slow-growing lifestyle is associated with late-successional species which are more durable and live longer but are not as easily established. Because of this, we expected higher AM responsiveness to be associated with slow-growing, late-successional plants. To further decode this multidimensional framework, a controlled greenhouse experiment was conducted using 27 foundational prairie plant species, inoculated with a diverse mix of AMF strains to assess the effects of AM colonization. Trait data were acquired initially, throughout the growth period, and during a final harvest. ANOVA tests were run between the inoculated and sterile replicates, and principal component analyses were conducted to combine traits and see underlying trends among them. The response to mycorrhizae can be explained by two PCs describing tissue quantity (biomass response) and quality (SLA response). There was no correlation between life history and MGR or any other PCs. Plants that allocate more resources to roots when uncolonized are going to have higher growth responses when colonized.
Author: Josie Laing, Botany Major
Advisor: Jonathan Bauer, Biology
Graduate Advisor: Katie Stahlhut, Biology
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