Responses ofHedysarum borealeNutt. to mycorrhizas andRhizobium: plant and soil nutrient changes in a disturbed shrub‐steppe

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Abstract
Summary: Effects of inoculation ofHedysarum borealessp.borealeNutt. (Fabaceae) with mycorrhizal fungi (topsoil inoculum) andRhizobium(pure inoculum) were studied in the field in southwestern Wyoming, USA. After 3 years, plants receiving both inocula had greater total aboveground biomass and leaflet biomass, more leaves, higher aboveground nitrogen and phosphorus contents and greater survival than plants which received single or no inoculum. Soil 20–40 cm deep (where roots were concentrated) beneathHedysarumindividuals from all treatments had a lower concentration of total nitrogen than did soil between plants.Hedysarumplants, inoculated or not, apparently extracted sufficient nitrogen from the soil, as they had similar leaflet nitrogen concentrations.Hedysarumdecreased the size of the pool of soil nitrogen even withRhizobiuminoculation on disturbed land in a semi‐arid environment during the first 3 years of growth.