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1 <br />' Microbial Status Study -Final Report <br />' conditions: there could be something in the soil that inhibits the spread of ectomycorrhizal fungi; <br />it could be that batches of plants leaving Bitterroot Restoration during different years are <br />colonized to a different extent; or most likely (given the high degree of variability associated <br />' with drawing conclusions based on a sample size of three plants) these numbers are not <br />statistically different at all (i.e. 67% colonization is not statistically different from 33% <br />colonization). <br />' The differences observed in the endomycorrhizal plants could, as seen with the ectomycorrhizal <br />oaks, be due to a number of the same factors. One fact to keep in mind however is that <br />' endomycorrhizal spores aze very large, are produced below ground (hypogeous in nature) and <br />can only be transported by whatever transports soil. As such endomycorrhizal spread occurs via <br />' root to root spread, via rodents and mammals, or via wind and water movement (Allen, 1991). <br />Any of these dispersal agents aze going to be slow depending on size and severity of the <br />' disturbance. <br />The newly transplanted Chokecherries and Serviceberries (yeaz 1995) that were not inoculated <br />by BNG would not show as colonized for some time (after migration back onto the site). <br />However, over a period of one to two years (depending on the factors that transport soil) we <br />might expect to see colonization show up. Under this scenario we would expect to see higher <br />endomycorrhizal colonization with time. <br />I believe that this may be what has happened at Seneca II . The Serviceberry and Chokecherry <br />' seedlings that left BNG for Seneca II were either improperly inoculated, the inoculum used had <br />a low viability, subsequent cultural measures taken at BNG inhibited the germination and/or <br />spread of the inoculum or perhaps Oust treatment to prepare the sites resulted in inhibition of <br />mycorrhizal spread within the plants. Mycorrhizal fungi spread through actively growing roots <br />' and a nonspecific herbicide like Oust would inhibit the growth of newly transplanted seedlings. <br />1 <br /> <br />