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<br />C~ <br />I' <br />I' <br />I' <br />I <br />I~ <br />i~ <br />SECTION C: MYCORRHIZAE BENEFITS STUDY <br />Introduction <br />Seneca II Mine inoculates plant materials with mycorrhizal fungi to improve the survival and <br />growth rate of planted shrubs. Native shrub species maintain mycorrhizal associations with fungi <br />which provide benefits such as increased drought tolerance, increased efficiency of nutrient <br />acquisition, and enhanced disease resistance. Actual benefits and the efficacy of current <br />methodologies for inoculation, however, have not been measured. In order to determine the <br />benefits of the current mycorrhizal inoculation program, the Mycorrhizae Benefits Study was <br />established to evaluate the survival and growth benefits of mycorrhizal versus non-mycorthizal <br />plant materials under field conditions and to determine the effectiveness of two sepazate <br />inoculation techniques. <br />et ods <br />Study Design. The study consists of a randomized block design placed on the planting unit <br />designated 97-] . The study block consists of four repetitions per treatment. Subplots within the <br />block consist of eight plants per species per repetition. Species being studied aze Serviceberry , <br />Chokecherry, and Wood's Rose. <br />Treatments applied to the plant species consist of the following: <br />1. Control with no mycorrhizal inoculant applied. <br />2. Field inoculation with mycopak (Glomus intraradix). <br />3. Nursery inoculation with BRI pre-inoculated plant materials. <br />All plant materials for the study were grown under identical greenhouse conditions. Inoculant <br />source for nursery inoculated seedlings varied by species (Table C-1). Site adapted inoculum <br />was the primary inoculum, however, commercial inoculum was utilized when site-adapted <br />inoculum was either unavailable or fungi had not colonized. Serviceberry was inoculated with <br />site adapted inoculum developed from root materials collected at Seneca II Mine. Chokecherry <br />and Wood's rose were inoculated with a generic inoculum obtained from a commercial facility. <br />Prior to outplanting, a random sample of inoculated plants were destructively sampled and <br />colonization rates determined. Reported colonization rates for servicebeny, chokecherry, and <br />Wood's rose were 100%, 90%, and 30% respectively. All plants were pruned to an <br />approximately equal height and met nursery plant standazds prior to shipping. <br />18 <br />