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

恢复或重建退化的生态系统可能是减缓生物多样性丧失的最佳工具之一。不幸的是，许多稀有植物物种无法在恢复的生态系统中生长，可能是因为它们生长所需的土壤微生物缺失。大多数植物物种与特定的土壤微生物相互作用，但这些微生物（微生物）在哪些条件下有利于或抑制稀有植物的建立是未知的，限制了我们提高生态系统恢复成功的能力。这项工作将验证一个总体假设，即特别罕见的、难以种植的草原豆科植物的存在受到菌根和根瘤菌共生菌的限制，并且在低肥力环境中，这些共生菌在豆科植物的种植、植物多样性和生态系统功能方面协同改善草原恢复结果。此外，它将评估这些相互作用在现实世界中是否重要。在这项研究中，本科生和研究生的研究人员将调查生活在土壤中的两组微生物，已知它们可以促进原生草原上稀有豆科植物（豆科植物）的生长。研究人员将从恢复的生态系统和相对未受干扰的原生草原生态系统中分离出这些微生物菌株，然后评估它们在各种环境条件下促进豆科植物生长、增加草原植物群落多样性和改善草原生态系统性能的能力（单独或组合）。他们还将与修复从业者分享这些有益的微生物，并培训从业者将土壤微生物纳入现实世界的大规模草原修复项目。有了这个奖项，研究人员将研究豆科植物和土壤根瘤菌和丛枝菌根真菌之间的相互关系，使用一系列的方法，跨越高度控制的实验室研究的光谱到现实世界的实地研究在恢复草原。在植物生长室和温室中，研究人员将测试从各种残余和恢复的草原土壤中分离的根瘤菌和丛枝菌根真菌的个别菌株的质量，并评估它们是否能在不利的土壤条件下协同促进12种草原豆科植物的生长，包括养分有效性降低或微生物质量差。在10个土壤肥力不同的恢复草原的田间地块中，他们将评估来自受控环境的模式是否与真实草原中的豆科植物生长保持一致。在恢复草原的温室生态系统和田间样地中，研究人员将评估这两种类型的共生体是否对植物群落多样性和草原生态系统功能（初级生产、养分循环、土壤建设）产生协同积极影响。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.