All native microbial amendments are not equal: One location outperformed all others in a test of coastal dune amendments

Microbial amendments can improve ecological restorations by increasing plant performance and decreasing soil erosion. Whole-soil amendments collected from native ecosystems, in particular, have been shown to produce desirable outcomes; however, it is unclear if all native soil amendments produce equally positive effects. Instead, it is likely that donor locations differ in their soil microbial communities, which may change their efficacy for restoration.We tested whether soil amendments sourced from eleven sites across the Texas Gulf Coast differed in their effects on aboveground and belowground responses, which could help predict how these amendments would influence dune restorations. The amendments were tested by growing a community of five native plant species in live or sterilized soil amendments collected from eleven sites. At the end of the experiment, we measured above- and below-ground biomass for each plant species, the density of AM fungal extra-radical hyphae (ERH) in the soil, and the colonization of one plant species' roots (Panicum amarum's roots) by AM fungal hyphae, vesicles, and arbuscules. Characteristics of each soil collection site -- including soil nutrients, plant community characteristics, and the amount of extra-radical hyphae from arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in the field collected soil -- were collected and used to assess which characteristics may predict high performing soil amendments. The dataset includes both site characteristics and data from the experiment.