Introduction and persistance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal inoculum

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Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are important root symbionts that confer many benefits to plants and ecosystems. Although these fungi are spread by humans, little is known about their ability to establish and persist in novel ecosystems. This is a problem because not only do they move as a consequence of human movement and land use, but they are also being applied to managed nd disturbed ecosystems as 'biofertilizer'. To understand the consequences of this movement, we need to learn more about the basic biology of AMF, including their response to disturbance, their competitive interactions and their ability to invade different systems. I propose to classify the invasion success of AMF based on differences in their life history strategies, that is, their traits that allow them to colonize, grow and spread. In addition, the characteristics of the site to be invaded will also be used to predict invasion success. This knowledge can be used to augment current agricultural/restoration practices, and also to manage landscapes where AMF have been introduced accidentally.