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BD1451: Diversification of grassland through the manipulation of plant-soil interactions and the identification of indicators of restorability (RP00194)

The aims of this Defra funded project were to:

  • confirm association of high fungal-to-bacterial ratios with species-rich grasslands;
  • quantify the impact of key plant species in the development of fungal dominated soils;
  • identify mechanisms that influence plant species on fungal-to-bacterial ratios and soil biota influences on vegetation;
  • evaluate other potential indicators for targeting grassland enhancement and creation.

Project details

Start date2004-04-01
End date2013-11-01

Project outputs

This project produced the following outputs:

OutputType
Publication of peer-reviewed papersPeer-reviewed paper
Publication of peer-reviewed papersPeer-reviewed paper
Findings to be presented at BES/AAB/BGS/NE conference.Workshop/conference/event
Technical Information Notes: revise existing notes and/or write new ones.Defra publication

Closing statement

A key finding to emerge from this study is the importance of soil type as a factor influencing the restoration of plant species diversity and the role of plant-soil interactions in this process. There was a consistent association between high fungal to bacterial biomass, low input management and species diversity

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