Grazer-Mycorrhizal Interactions in Tallgrass Prairie: Effects on Carbon and Nitrogen Partitioning and Sequestration

Kansas State University, Manhattan KS

Investigators

Abstract

Although mycorrhizal symbioses (mutualistic associations of plant roots and fungi) are ubiquitous in nature, neither the influences of mycorrhizae on carbon and nitrogen retention nor theier effects on soil food webs and nutrient cycling are well understood. This project is seeking to determine: 1) the role of mycorrhizal symbiosis on C and N sequestration; 2) the impact of belowground grazers on C and N cycling within the biotic communities; 3) the interactive feedbacks of sequestered C and nutrient availability on soil biota. Planned greenhouse and field studies will include experimental manipulations of mycorrhizal fungi, a belowground grazer community (nematodes), and soil nutrient availability. Measurements will include tracing C and N flow through the plant/soil systems and the responses of the soil biotic communities. Broader Impact: Undergraduate and graduate students will involved will likely serve as coauthors of publications. Results will be presented publicly through via Visitors' Days at the Konza Prairie Biological Station and via broadcast media research updates on a local public radio station. The proposed studies will provide needed information on how interactions within the belowground biotic community impact C dynamics, N availability, and sequestration of C and N into the soil organic matter, and on the feedback effects of changes in C and N dynamics on plant-fungal-grazer interactions