Effects of the Epichloë fungal endophyte symbiosis with Schedonorus pratensis on host grass invasiveness

We investigated the effect of grass-endophyte symbiosis on host grass invasiveness in Schedonorus pratesis (meadow fescue)-Epichloë uncinatum (se ven forage cultivars) and S. arundinaceus (tall fescue)-E. coenophialum (two cultivars) that were developed with high or low endophyte infection rate. Seeds were broadcast seeded into 2 x 2-m plots in a tilled, old-field grassland community in a completely randomised block experimental design. Schedonorus abundance, endophyte infection rate, and the co-occurring vegetation were sampled 3, 4, 5, and 6 yr after establishment, and the aboveground invertebrate community was sampled in S. pratensis plots 3 and 4 yr after establishment.