Underground Explorers

In Africa, arid and semi-arid rangelands cover roughly half of the continent's landmass and are largely dominated by native perennial grasses. African rangelands support unique biodiversity and play important ecological roles by providing essential ecosystem services e.g. nutrient cycling, C-sequestration and climate regulation. However, these rangelands are also fragile and undergoing accelerated land degradation. Thus, there is an urgent need to halt degradation and restore denuded African rangelands. Seed-based ecological restoration using native drought tolerant perennial grasses has shown great potential in restoring degraded African rangelands. However, few studies have assessed responses of mycorrhizal fungi to field based restoration practices, especially in African dry environments. Thus this study aims to determine the responses of mycorrhizal fungi to seed-based ecological restoration using different drought tolerant perennial grasses native to Africa, and assess the potential of using mycorrhizal fungi as a nature-based solution for ecological restoration in African rangelands.