Grassland restorations: Where do we go from here?

Grassland restoration projects are often conceived and implemented with the goal of rapid plant community succession, especially following removal of invasive plants. This ‘Fast-Forward’ approach has been criticized due to limited success. We are involved in several efforts to reestablish native arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in conjunction with native nurse-plants and/or native seed mixes. While our results suggest AM fungal inoculation improves seedling establishment and survivorship, we have not always observed improved plant community diversity, stability, or resilience to re-invasion. Therefore, we are examining alternative paradigms for restoration planning, including how to appropriately manage grassland succession and plant-soil feedbacks.