The effects of prairie community composition and soil amendments on Quercus macrocarpa seedling success during post-agricultural restoration.

The effects of prairie community composition and soil amendments on Quercus macrocarpa seedling success during post-agricultural restoration.

Presenter(s)

Lindsey Dewey

Comments

3:00-4:15, Kennedy Union Ballroom

Description

In the last century, worldwide there has been an increase in the amount of abandoned agricultural land. In eastern North America restoration efforts often focus on trying to restore these post agricultural fields to native forest. Many barriers such as degraded soils, loss of native biodiversity, disruption of symbiotic mycorrhizal relationships, and invasive species keep these fields from naturally regenerating through old field succession. The long-term goal of our study is to transition a post agricultural field into an oak-hickory forest. Working with our community partners, Five Rivers Metroparks we established a fully replicated restoration experiment on a 12 ha post agricultural field. We established 20 plots and assigned one of four treatment seeding mixes: high diversity high legume content, high diversity low legume content, low diversity high legume content, and low diversity low legume content. Each plot was split into four subplots that received one of four soil amendments: no amendment (control), whole soil transplant, mulch application, and whole soil and mulch. In each subplot six bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) saplings were planted. The height and basal diameter of each surviving sapling was measured in the fall of 2022 and 2023. One sample was collected from every subplot in the fall of 2022 and 2023 to measure sapling biomass and examine the ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) root colonization. We found that after two growing seasons oak seedlings' basal diameter, rate of mortality, and rate of herbivory were significantly influenced by our treatments. We did not find that height or mycorrhizal root colonization was significantly affected by our treatments. Unaccounted variables such as competition and microclimate influences that may have disrupted our results. Forest regeneration failure is a widespread problem and the restoration of degraded post agricultural landscapes could help solve this problem.

Publication Date

4-23-2025

Project Designation

Graduate Research

Primary Advisor

Ryan W. McEwan

Primary Advisor's Department

Biology

Keywords

Stander Symposium, College of Arts and Sciences

The effects of prairie community composition and soil amendments on Quercus macrocarpa seedling success during post-agricultural restoration.

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