Do missing mutualists limit restoration success of rare plants?

Many plant species experience strong establishment limitation in areas with a history of intense anthropogenic disturbance, which can limit the diversity of ecological restoration efforts. One possible explanation for this establishment limitation is a lack of compatible microbial mutualists in highly disturbed soils. Specifically, we have found that several rare plants in the legume family fail to form high-quality mutualisms with rhizobia in many sites, and reintroduction of compatible rhizobia can increase plant nodulation and growth in previously disturbed soils.