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UNDERSTANDING THE MICROBIAL ASPECTS OF BRAZILIAN PEPPER TREE (SCHINUS TEREBINTHIFOLIUS) INVASION IN FLORIDA

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Date Issued:
2022
Abstract/Description:
Emerging insights on the role of microbiomes in the sustainability of ecosystems and plant cover are transforming knowledge-driven agro-environmental management practices. For more than a century, the Brazilian pepper tree -BP (Schinus terebinthifolius), a category 1 invasive plant in Florida has defied numerous conventional control measures directed at its well-known ecology. This dissertation is one of the pioneer studies designed to determine whether microorganisms play a role in the aggressive invasion of BP in Florida and examine potential mechanisms with the goal of creating supplemental restoration tools. To test the hypothesis that enhanced mutualism of Brazilian pepper tree with microbes, compounded by relatively low biotic resistance of Florida soils is a critical driver of its invasion, plant biomass indices, metagenomics analysis of microbial community shifts, electron microscopy of endomycorrhizal infection and qPCR of key rhizobacterial taxa were measured. A multifactorial grow-room experiment was conducted simulating invasion with BP and two Florida natives (Pinus elliottii and Bidens alba) in a sterile, bioinoculant supplemented, and non-sterile control soils with various plant combinations.
Title: UNDERSTANDING THE MICROBIAL ASPECTS OF BRAZILIAN PEPPER TREE (SCHINUS TEREBINTHIFOLIUS) INVASION IN FLORIDA.
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Name(s): Dawkins, Karim , author
Esiobu, Nwadiuto , Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Department of Biological Sciences
Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2022
Date Issued: 2022
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 148 p.
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: Emerging insights on the role of microbiomes in the sustainability of ecosystems and plant cover are transforming knowledge-driven agro-environmental management practices. For more than a century, the Brazilian pepper tree -BP (Schinus terebinthifolius), a category 1 invasive plant in Florida has defied numerous conventional control measures directed at its well-known ecology. This dissertation is one of the pioneer studies designed to determine whether microorganisms play a role in the aggressive invasion of BP in Florida and examine potential mechanisms with the goal of creating supplemental restoration tools. To test the hypothesis that enhanced mutualism of Brazilian pepper tree with microbes, compounded by relatively low biotic resistance of Florida soils is a critical driver of its invasion, plant biomass indices, metagenomics analysis of microbial community shifts, electron microscopy of endomycorrhizal infection and qPCR of key rhizobacterial taxa were measured. A multifactorial grow-room experiment was conducted simulating invasion with BP and two Florida natives (Pinus elliottii and Bidens alba) in a sterile, bioinoculant supplemented, and non-sterile control soils with various plant combinations.
Identifier: FA00014017 (IID)
Degree granted: Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2022.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Subject(s): Brazilian pepper tree
Arbuscular mycorrhizas
Invasive plants
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00014017
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
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Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.