Mycorrhizae and rehabilitation of disturbed arid soils: Processes and practices

Abstract

Vesicular‐arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM) are critical components of arid ecosystems that regulate plant growth by improving plant nutrient and water uptake capacities. All arid plant species are capable of forming mycorrhizal associations except a limited suite of annual weeds. Almost any perturbation associated with human development serves to reduce VAM inoculum. Thus the restoration of disturbed lands depends, in part, on the restoration of viable VAM symbioses. Two means are available for restoring the symbiosis: artificial inoculation and application of succession theory. Although artificial inoculation is possible, due to the current inability to grow the endophyte, it has limited applicability. There are a wide variety of vectors of VAM fungi including animals and wind. Proper use of existing information can enhance the natural restoration of VAM symbioses. These include patch planting, planting of facultative VAM plants, and allowing animals to migrate freely across the site. These activities resulted in the rapid restoration of VAM in a test site and should be tested over a broad range of arid soils in need of restoration. If these procedures are found adequate, VAM could significantly enhance the reconstruction efforts in arid lands.