The Role of Mycorrhizal Fungi for Supporting AeroHydro Culture in Tropical Peatland

Restoration of tropical peatland ecosystem (including swamps and forests) is a sustainable activity to rebuild, manage, and recover various aspects of the ecosystem components. Indigenous forest tree species and their communities are important components for the sustainability of nutrient cycle assisted by the important role of forest microbes. They work in the forest floor underground, especially decomposers, saprophytic fungi, pathogenic fungi, ectomycorrhizal fungi, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria. They contribute to build the infrastructure of nutrient mineralization and carbon cycles in the forest floor. This paper described some ideas to develop a formulation of the role of mycorrhizal fungi in synergizing AeroHydro Culture and restoration activities in a tropical peatland ecosystem. Mycorrhizal fungi could synergize with other AeroHydro Culture components and also host trees to be introduced. The growth of new young roots around the plant is a trick to emerge exudate carbohydrates so that mycorrhizal fungi can be symbiotic. Thus, the mycorrhizal fungal propagules including spores could be germinated. The AeroHydro Culture formulation can be organic materials; plant growth substances, essential nutrients for root stimulation, mycorrhizal fungi and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), biochar and zeolite as porosity agents and microbial houses that synergize with roots can also increase the colonization of mycorrhizal fungi introduced in a natural forest and forest plantation. AeroHydro Culture is a cultivation technology integrated to stimulate functional aerial roots of the trees in peatland under high groundwater level (GWL). In stagnant conditions, AeroHydro Culture stimulates forest trees to produce new young roots, so that in limited conditions it could enhance tree productivity and microbial biodiversity below the ground. It is expected in the near future that the application of AeroHydro Culture can contribute and increase the productivity of peatland, which is currently undergoing field-scale experiments. Long-term monitoring is needed to identify the growth responses of local tree by AeroHydro Culture treatment, including mycorrhizal inoculation effect with organic nutrient addition. It suggests that AeroHydro Culture contributes to enhance productivity and sustain the tropical peatland ecosystem.