Collaborative Research: RUI: Multi-mutualist Effects on Populations, Communities, and Ecosystems Across Ecological Gradients

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Restoration, or the rebuilding of degraded ecosystems, may be one of the best tools for slowing the loss of biodiversity. Unfortunately, many rare plant species fail to establish in restored ecosystems, potentially because the soil microorganisms required for their establishment are missing. Most plant species interact with specific soil microbes, but the conditions under which those microbes (microscopic organisms) benefit or inhibit the establishment of rare plants is unknown, limiting our ability to increase the success of ecosystem restoration. This work will test the overarching hypothesis that the presence of particularly rare, difficult-to-establish prairie legumes is limited by both mycorrhizal and rhizobial mutualists and that in low-fertility environments those mutualists synergistically improve prairie restoration outcomes in terms of legume establishment, plant diversity, and ecosystem function. Further, it will evaluate whether these interactions matter in the real world. In this research, undergraduate and graduate student researchers will investigate two groups of microbes that live in the soil, known to enhance the growth of rare legumes (plants in the bean family) in native prairies. Researchers will isolate strains of these microbes from restored ecosystems and from relatively undisturbed native prairie ecosystems and then evaluate their ability (either singly or in combination) to increase legume growth, increase prairie plant community diversity, and improve prairie ecosystem performance across a wide range of environmental conditions. They will also share these beneficial microorganisms with restoration practitioners and train practitioners to incorporate soil microbes in real-world, large-scale prairie restoration projects. With this award, researchers will examine mutualisms between legumes and soil rhizobial bacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, using a range of approaches that span the spectrum of highly controlled lab studies to real-world field studies in restored prairies. In plant growth chambers and greenhouses, researchers will test the quality of individual strains of rhizobia and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi isolated from various remnant and restored prairie soils and evaluate whether they can synergistically enhance the growth of twelve prairie legumes under unfavorable soil conditions, including decreased nutrient availability or poor microbial quality. In field plots across ten restored prairies varying in soil fertility, they will evaluate whether patterns from controlled environments remain consistent for legume growth in real prairies. In greenhouse mesocosms and field plots in restored prairies, researchers will evaluate whether both types of mutualists together have synergistically positive effects on plant community diversity and prairie ecosystem functions (primary production, nutrient cycling, soil building).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.