Responses of Piscidia carthagenensis to Native and Non-Native AMF Inoculation Across Successional Soils from a Xerophytic Shrubland

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can enhance plant establishment in degraded drylands, but inoculation outcomes may depend on inoculum identity and recipient soil conditions. We evaluated the response of Piscidia carthagenensis to three native AMF consortia from contrasting successional stages of a xerophytic shrubland and to a non-native Acaulospora lacunosa inoculum. Plants were grown in soils representing reference shrubland, early-seral, and late-seral stages. An uninoculated treatment was included as a control. After 112 days, plant growth, nodulation, and AM root colonization were assessed. The magnitude and pattern of plant responses to inoculation varied among the three recipient soils. Native consortia generally produced more consistent positive effects on growth and nodulation than the non-native inoculum, particularly in seral soils. Total root colonization exceeded 90% in inoculated plants grown in early- and late-seral soils, yet plant responses still differed among inocula. Intraradical structures differentiated among inocula more clearly than total root colonization. Home inoculations showed trait-specific advantages over Away inoculations and more consistently outperformed the tested non-native inoculum. These findings suggest that the native AMF consortia evaluated here are promising candidate inocula for the restoration of degraded dryland ecosystems.