Isolation of AM Fungi from Rhizospheric Soil and Assessing Their Potential in Revegetating the Mining Wasteland of Gujarat using Inoculated Trees Saplings

Abstract

Fluorspar (CaF2), is a common mineral, occurring in green, purple, yellow, or colorless crystals, which is used in metallurgy and making
a variety of chemicals used in refrigeration. Kadipani in Gujarat has large deposits of this ore. Open cast mining by GMDC has resulted
in disturbed ecology. Earlier the efforts have been made by the forest department to grow tree species, in order to restore the forest
ecosystem, but the plants grew slowly and with stunted morphology and scanty survival. The obligate fungal symbionts known as
arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) present in plants play a key factor supporting plant growth in stressed conditions. Therefore, AMF
strains were first isolated from mining area and were used to raise the saplings first in polybags. Then after 75 days these were used for
revegetating the mine burdens or nearby waste land. The paper presents a pioneering efforts made to isolate and identify, the AMF
from Fluorspar mines in Gujarat and then Glomus fasciculatum was incorporated in polybags filled with normal garden soil. Plants were
also raised by single spore inoculation method. Preliminary experiments revealed that the inoculated AMF strains promoted seedling
growth of Leuceana leucocephala and Millettia pinnata. The inoculation of AMF spores enhanced the growth of both the plants, and such
application can be used in sustainable restoration of the mining areas. Review discusses the structure of AM spores and mechanisms
involved to equip them to survive in stressed situations and as symbionts help the plants to perform better.