Abstract: The rocky desertification ecosystem in Southwest China is characterized by ecologically fragile environment, in that the surface soil is poor and dry, vegetation degradation is severe, and vegetation recovery is difficult. The survival rate of local afforestation seedlings is low, with poor resistance for stresses. To improve the survival rate and growth of afforestation seedlings, we used mixed mycorrhizal inoculum of Glomus versiforme and Rhizophagus intraradices to inoculate Delavaya toxocarpa, Dalbergia odorifera, Toona sinensis, Camptotheca acuminata, and Zenia insignis and cultivated mycorrhizal seedlings. A transplanting afforestation experiment was conducted in the rocky desertification land by using the mycorrhizal inoculated seedlings. The effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculation on the survival rate and growth of afforestation seedlings under field conditions were investigated. The mycorrhizal infection rates of the inoculated seedlings of five species ranged from 48.5% to 69.5% after one year transplantation, being higher than that of the uninoculated ones. The survival rate, preservation rate, plant height, and base diameter of the five inoculated species increased by 8.9%-14.9%, 11.5%-22.6%, 14.4%-44.6%, and 7.6%-31.7%, respectively, compared with the uninoculated plants. The inoculation of mycorrhizal fungi promoted nutrient absorption of the seedlings. In particular, the phosphorus content in the inoculated treatments was significantly higher than that of the uninoculated ones. Furthermore, the biomass of the inoculated seedlings was significantly higher than that of the uninoculated ones. Among the five species, mycorrhizal dependence was the highest for T. sinensis (up to 26.0%) and the lowest for Z. insignis (9.1%). These results suggested that the inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi could promote the growth of afforestation seedlings and increase their survival rate under field conditions; this method has good potential for application in vegetation restoration in rocky desertification areas.

Key words: fisheries, functional trait, Minjiang Estuary, functional diversity