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Subject: grasslands

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    Mycorrhizas and the Context Dependency of Mutualism: Effects of Soil Phosphorus Availability and Community Composition of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi on Plant Performance and Symbiosis With the Grassland Forb Gaillardia aristata Across Its Northern Range
    (North Dakota State University, 2021) Long, Alison
    Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonize roots and provide phosphorus as well as other benefits to hosts in exchange for photosynthate. I explored how the symbiosis between AMF and the native prairie forb Gaillardia aristata differed regionally among sites that varied in soil phosphorus availability (SPA). In the field, plant biomass and shoot phosphorus concentration were correlated with SPA and hyphal length. AMF community composition in roots correlated with distance between sites, SPA, temperature, and precipitation. To test the hypothesis that AMF from sites varying in SPA would differ in effectiveness at provisioning phosphorus to their host, I grew G. aristata in the greenhouse with soil inoculum from sites low and high in SPA and fertilized with or without phosphorus. Gaillardia aristata benefited equally from both inocula and phosphorus fertilization, while root AMF communities differed between inocula but not with fertilization. AMF from varying SPA appear to be equally effective mutualists.
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    Using Seed Source Diversity and Species Distribution Modeling for Evaluating Grassland Restoration Success and Suitability
    (North Dakota State University, 2022) Lindstrom, Jess
    Seed sourcing for restoration often uses local populations presumed adapted to local environments. This may not be effective under changing climates. Thus, different seed sourcing strategies need testing including multi-source regional collections and their ability to persist in response to change. We compared first-year emergence for single and multi-source seed mixes on plant community diversity following restoration at two locations. There was no discernable effect of seed mix treatment on community establishment. However, land-use history likely has influenced early diversity. Following this, we evaluated which climate variables influence distributions across 26 grassland species’ ranges. We produced contemporary species distribution models and evaluated how predicted habitat suitability changed in response to predicted carbon emission scenarios. The climate variables that influenced habitat suitability varied by species with predicted species- and functional-group specific responses to predicted change. These results may aid seed sourcing decisions and identifying regions to implement restorations in the future.