Studies on the diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and the efficacy of two native isolates in a highly alkaline anthropogenic sediment

A field survey of the arbuscular mycorrhizal status of herbaceous plant species was conducted in a highly alkaline anthropogenic sediment resulting from the disposal of waste from an acetylene and polyvinyl chloride factory. Most plant species found at the site were mycorrhizal and the dominant mycotrophic plant species was Conyza bilbaoana. Fungal species richness was assessed by identification of spores extracted from the sediment and from continuously propagated trap pot cultures. All of the six species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) found were from the genus Glomus. Glomus intraradices and G. mosseae were found in field-collected sediment samples and also occurred most frequently in trap cultures. To test the symbiotic effectiveness of these two fungi, seedlings of C. bilbaoana were inoculated with either native G. intraradices BEG163 or G. mosseae BEG198 and non-native G. intraradices BEG75 or G. mosseae BEG25 isolates in sterile and non-sterile sediment collected from the study site. All four isolates were able to colonise C. bilbaoana. However, AMF native to the target sediments were generally more effective than the non-native fungi in promoting plant establishment and growth under highly alkaline conditions. The non-native G. intraradices was, however, more effective than the non-native G. mosseae. The results of this study suggest the use of adapted AMF as inoculants for phytorestoration of alkaline anthropogenic-stressed sediments.