Hastings Natural History Reservation

02 Jun, 03 AM - 02 Jun, 09 AM

I am planning on doing preliminary surveys of Blue and Valley Oak seedlings. I will be measuring seedling height, width, number of leaves, neighboring plants, proximity to mature trees, and levels and types of herbivory. I will place tags on seedlings to keep track of their location and data. In the future, I plan on taking soil samples from under mature trees and stands of native and exotic grasses to determine how the mycorrhizal communities differ among sites. Through field and greenhouse experiments, I will assess how the different mycorrhizal communities affect the establishment of oak seedlings. Project Description Summary: California?s oak woodlands have undergone dramatic changes in past centuries through destruction of habitat, invasion by annual grasses, and grazing. The once vast ranges of California?s two endemic oak species, Valley Oak (Quercus lobata) and Blue Oak (Q. douglasii), have been reduced to small fragments and they are now experiencing minimal regeneration. Factors known to influence regeneration include herbivory, competition and belowground processes such as mycorrhizae. Research has shown that mycorrhizal fungi can improve their host?s defense against herbivores, influence competitive interactions, and that common mycorrhizal networks (CMN) are important for seedling establishment. My goal is to examine the role of CMN in oak seedling establishment, competition with native and exotic grasses, and herbivore defense. I predict that CMN enhance the competitive ability and tannin production in oak seedlings thereby increasing their establishment success. I will conduct both field and greenhouse experiments to test these predictions. Field experiments will include planting seedlings in a series of belowground exclosures which will allow roots to interact with either fungal hyphae, both hyphae and roots, or neither. Allowing the roots to interact with fungal hyphae permits the establishment of CMN between the seedlings and other plants. These will be placed in under mature trees and among native and exotic grasses. I will assess the performance of seedlings, mycorrhizal colonization, and tannin production. Future greenhouse experiments will test the specific mechanisms by which these interactions are mediated.

Visit #5576 @Hastings Natural History Reservation

Approved

Under Project # 4042 | Research

Krikor

reserve_staff - University of California, Santa Cruz

Reservation Members(s)

Krikor Andonian Jun 2, 2004 (1 days)
Krikor Andonian Jun 2, 2004 (1 days)

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