GEOGRAPHICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CONSTRAINTS ON RECRUITMENT OF WIREGRASS, AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT OF LONGLEAF PINE

The long-term goal of this project is to expand the capacity for wiregrass seed to be used for restoration of longleaf pine savannas of the southeastern United States. To support this goal, we need to determine mechanisms that limit the establishment of sustainable wiregrass ecotypes in different environments, including wet and dry soil types, and determine best practices for storing seeds. This study will address the following fundamental objectives:1. Determine whether wiregrass seeding rate and/or the presence of novel competitors affect wiregrass ecotype success (i.e., establishment probability);2. Identify whether the presence and abundance of endomycorrhizal fungi or the availability of water limit wiregrass ecotype success; and3. Test whether seeds of wiregrass ecotypes differ in morphology, quality, viability or desiccation and aging stress tolerance, which will inform long-term seed storage physiology.