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SECTION C: MYCORRHIZAE BENEFITS STUDY • Introduction Seneca II Mine inoculates plant materials with mycorrhizal fungi to improve the survival and growth rate of planted shrubs. Native shrub species maintain mycorrhizal associations with fungi which provide benefits such as increased drought tolerance, increased efficiency of nutrient acquisition, and enhanced disease resistance. Actual benefits and the efficacy of current methodologies for inoculation, however, have not been measured. In order to determine the benefits of the current mycorrhizal inoculation program, the Mycoirhizae Benefits Study was established to evaluate the survival and growth benefits of mycorrhizal versus non-mycorrhizal plant materials under field conditions and to determine the effectiveness of two separate inoculation techniques. Methods Study Design. The study consists of a Randomized Block Design placed on the planting unit designated 97-1 (Figure 4). The study block consists of four repetitions per treatment. Subplots within the block consist of eight plants per species per repetition. Species being studied aze Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia), Common Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana), and Wood's Rose (Rosa woodsii). Treatments applied to the plant species consist of the following: 1. Control with no mycorrhizal inoculant applied. 2. Commercial inoculant (Myco-Pak with Glomus intraradix) applied in the field. • 3. BRI Pre-Inoculated Plant Materials. All plant materials for the study were grown under identical greenhouse conditions. Inoculant source for nursery inoculated seedlings vaned by species (Table 2A). Site adapted inoculum was the primary inoculum, however, commercial inoculum was utilized when site-adapted inoculum was either unavailable or fungi had not colonized. Serviceberry was inoculated with site adapted inoculum developed from root materials collected at Seneca II Mine. Chokecherry and Wood's Rose were inoculated with a generic inoculum obtained from a commercial facility. Prior to outplanting, a random sample of inoculated plants were destructively sampled and colonization rates determined. Reported colonization rates for Servicebeny, Chokecherry, and Wood's Rose were 100%, 90%, and 30% respectively. All plants were pruned to an approximately equal height and met nursery plant standards prior to shipping. Table 24. Study species and type of mycorrhizal association. Common Name Association ~ Inoculant Type Nursery';Colonization Rate Serviceberry endomycorrhizal custom 100% Chokecherry endomycorrhizal commercial 90% Wood's Rose endomycorrhizal commercial 30% 30 C~