Root growth and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on woody plants for vegetative stabilization of tropical slopes

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi improve plant growth but have not been studied for slope stabilization. Inoculation of these fungi and bamboo intervention can enhance root growth toward the slip plane. The study tests tree roots' responses to seeding in bamboo tubes and the fungi consortium.METHODS: The growth of three fast-growing native Indonesian woody plants: Paraserianthes falcataria, Acacia mangium, and Gmelina arborea, was monitored in a screen house. These plants were seeded in bamboo tubes containing soil from Jati Radio and Citatah. The tubes were placed on an inclined plane resembling a 20o slope. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi were added in three doses and controlled by the plots without mycorrhiza and bamboo. FINDINGS: The results showed that bamboo could direct root growth toward the slip plane. The best arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculation results were obtained in Gmelina arborea with a treatment dose of M3 or 30 grams on Jati Radio and Citatah soils. Both treatments did not show significant differences in both locations.CONCLUSION: Gmelina arborea has the highest phosphorus absorption at 80 percent and the highest biomass weight at 660 grams with M3 dose in Citatah, and 71 percent with 330 g at the same dose in Jati Radio, which is related to the optimal level of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculation. Therefore, this species provides the best option for implementing biotechnological strategies to stabilize slopes in areas prone to landslides. Combining bamboo with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can direct and accelerate root growth, with the goal of crossing landslide slip planes.