Studying arbuscular mycorrhiza symbiotic effects on establishment and morphological characteristics of Bromus kopetdaghensis in cadmium contaminated soil

The contamination of soil by heavy metals has resulted in the destruction of natural plant habitats and caused other serious environmental problems in arid and semi-arid industrial lands. In this study, the favorable effects of arbuscular mycorrhiza fungus on the establishment and morphological characteristics of Bromus kopetdaghensis grown in Cadmium (Cd) contaminated soil were investigated. This plant is one of the most important plants in semi-arid rangelands in terms of its economic value, forage production and resistance to drought. A set of factorial experiments were conducted on the basis of a randomized design with four replications, two mycorrhizal treatments (control and Glomus intraradices) and five Cd levels (0, 5, 10, 20 and 50 ppm). By increasing the Cd concentration, the plant establishment, height and root dry weight were found to decline. The results show that the highest and the lowest colonization rates belong to 0 ppm (85%) and 50 ppm (25.42%) Cd levels, respectively (p < 0.05). In these Cd contaminated soils, the G. intraradices inoculation results in a significant increase in Bromus kopetdaghensis establishment and its height compared to the control treatment without fungus. Additionally, symbiosis with this species significantly increases the shoot and total dry weight. The findings demonstrate the substantial ability of mycorrhizal fungus, as a biological fertilizer, to increase the forage production of Bromus kopetdaghensis in Cd contaminated soil in semi-arid land.