Date of Submission
Fall 2024
Academic Program
Biology
Project Advisor 1
Cathy Collins
Abstract/Artist's Statement
Abstract
Understanding seed pathogens is essential due to their impact on plant health and their potential threat to crop productivity and food security. Soil fungi play a dual role in shaping plant communities, both influencing plant growth and acting as pathogens that reduce agricultural yields. This research investigates plant-specific fungal communities to explore their potential effects on above-ground plant abundance. Drawing on the concept of Plant-Soil Feedback (PSF), this study examines the reciprocal relationship between plants and soil microbes, where plants alter soil properties that, in turn, affect plant growth and community dynamics. The primary objective of this research is to explore variations in seed pathogen specificity and to understand how soil fungi influence plant growth and community structure.
This project has four main goals: (1) to examine host specificity among fungi infecting buried seeds, (2) to investigate whether fungi cultured from seeds are among the most abundant in the surrounding soil, (3) to assess how host species abundance influences fungal community composition in seeds, and (4) to build upon existing data on plant diversity and soil fungal diversity from pre-established plots at Bard College Montgomery Place, where species richness was measured in 2023. By addressing these objectives, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of plant-fungal interactions and has implications for ecosystem management and agricultural practices, especially in mitigating risks to plant health and crop productivity.
Open Access Agreement
On-Campus only
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Bordao, Camille Isabella, "Seed Pathogens and Plant Interactions in Old field: Investigation of Fungal Host Specificity and Its Impact on Above Ground Plants." (2024). Senior Projects Fall 2024. 25.
https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/senproj_f2024/25
This work is protected by a Creative Commons license. Any use not permitted under that license is prohibited.
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