Assessing Ectomycorrhizal Advantage on Tree Species Within Differing Soil Materials in Spring Mountains, Nevada

Ectomycorrhizal fungi (ECM) form symbiotic relationships with their partner plant, creating root systems which allow for the exchange of nutrients among connected plants. The Spring Mountains National Recreation Area (NRA) in Southern Nevada is the study site for examining ECMs due to its diverse ecosystem with numerous inhabiting species. To assess the effects of ECMs on the tree composition, literature review was conducted to outline previous methods. Through data analysis and observations of the sample sites, it is concluded that ECMs are highly likely to have an effect on tree composition of the Spring Mountains NRA. The purpose of this research is to assess the presence of the ECM community in the Spring Mountains and determine a data collection process for future exploration. Due to research limitations, sampling for DNA extraction was not conducted, but future instructions were listed for further study.