WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS
A seven-year restoration experiment tested site preparation, native seed addition and soil microbial inocula sourced from old-growth prairie. Solarization followed by native microbial inoculation produced more late-successional native species and higher floristic quality than several other treatments. Repeated overseeding without strong site preparation mostly increased grasses and still left the community grass-dominated after three seeding attempts.
WHY IT MATTERS / OUR READ
Restoration can inherit a biological starting condition belowground as well as aboveground. Where invasion and degraded soil communities reinforce one another, simply adding more seed may not move the system onto the desired trajectory; site preparation and microbial context can be part of the treatment.
CAVEATS / UNCERTAINTY
This is one long-term grassland experiment, and microbial inoculation methods, donor soils and invasion pressure will differ elsewhere. The results do not imply that soil inoculation is necessary or feasible in every prairie restoration.
SOURCE
Ecological Applications · Original evidence
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