Date of Presentation
7-29-2026 2:00 PM
College
College of Science & Mathematics
Faculty Sponsor(s)
Dr. Bentivenga
Poster Abstract
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are obligate root symbionts that extend host nutrient uptake in exchange for photosynthate. Restored native grasslands and cover-cropped fields represent contrasting management strategies applied to former conventional farmland, differing in both tillage frequency and plant diversity, yet how these strategies shape AMF association in sandy, low-fertility soils remains largely understudied. We compared AMF colonization and spore communities between two adjacent sites converted approximately three years prior at the Bishop Farmstead, Southampton Township, NJ: a restored grassland dominated by Panicum virgatum and an agricultural field under white and red clover cover (Trifolium repens, T. pratense). Fine roots were cleared, stained, and scored by the gridline-intersect method; spores were extracted from soil by sucrose density gradient centrifugation and identified to morphotype. Colonization did not differ between the restored grassland and the cover-cropped site (Welch's t-test, p = 0.54), averaging near 40% at both. Preliminary spore counts showed glomoid and acaulosporoid morphotypes dominating both communities. These results suggest that at three years post-conversion, the two management strategies support comparable AMF colonization intensity and coarse spore community composition, despite differing in tillage regime and host plant identity. Tracking these sites across additional years, paired with ITS/18S amplicon sequencing and multivariate ordination, would test whether communities continue to shift as time since tillage increases and whether finer-scale composition tracks soil organic matter, phosphorus, nitrogen, or micronutrients.
Student Keywords
arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization, spore communities, clover-dominated cover crop, restored native grass systems
Disciplines
Biology
Document Type
Poster
Included in
Comparison of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization and spore communities between clover-dominated cover crop and restored native grass systems
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are obligate root symbionts that extend host nutrient uptake in exchange for photosynthate. Restored native grasslands and cover-cropped fields represent contrasting management strategies applied to former conventional farmland, differing in both tillage frequency and plant diversity, yet how these strategies shape AMF association in sandy, low-fertility soils remains largely understudied. We compared AMF colonization and spore communities between two adjacent sites converted approximately three years prior at the Bishop Farmstead, Southampton Township, NJ: a restored grassland dominated by Panicum virgatum and an agricultural field under white and red clover cover (Trifolium repens, T. pratense). Fine roots were cleared, stained, and scored by the gridline-intersect method; spores were extracted from soil by sucrose density gradient centrifugation and identified to morphotype. Colonization did not differ between the restored grassland and the cover-cropped site (Welch's t-test, p = 0.54), averaging near 40% at both. Preliminary spore counts showed glomoid and acaulosporoid morphotypes dominating both communities. These results suggest that at three years post-conversion, the two management strategies support comparable AMF colonization intensity and coarse spore community composition, despite differing in tillage regime and host plant identity. Tracking these sites across additional years, paired with ITS/18S amplicon sequencing and multivariate ordination, would test whether communities continue to shift as time since tillage increases and whether finer-scale composition tracks soil organic matter, phosphorus, nitrogen, or micronutrients.