My name is Becca Wagenknecht and I am an undergraduate study pursuing a BS in Environmental and Plant Biology at Ohio University. I'm currently in my 3rd year at OU and have had a fantastic time learning and working with others. I really enjoy studying ecology because for me there's no better place to work or learn than outside!
There has been some evidence that has shown that seedling recruitment is affected by the mycorrhizal network at the site of germination, altering survival rates and growth rates. Mycorrhizal associations are a symbiotic relationship between plants and fungi, which is critical to a plants growth. In return for carbohydrates from the plant, the fungal hyphae attaches to the plants' roots, extending their reach thus increasing nutrient uptake. We focused on the most common types of myccorhizzal associations, ectomycorrhizae (ECM) and arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM). Variation in nutrient mining of ECM and AM fungi creates variation in soil chemistry and therefore the potential to affect seedling recruitment and survival. We tested this by sampling 22 different plots and we identified more than 20,000 seedlings and nearly 1000 trees. In the summer of 2019, myself, undergraduate Rachel Wichterman and PBIO MSc student Taylor Sparbanie, worked in Waterloo Nature Preserve about 15 minute
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