We investigated the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) status of ten nurseries suitable for restoration of dry evergreen Afromontane forests in Ethiopia. We quantified AMF root colonization (RC) and spore abundance (SA) in seedlings of nine native tree species namely Acacia abyssinica Hochst. ex Benth., Cordia africana Lam., Dovyalis abyssinica (A. Rich.) Warb., Hagenia abyssinica J.F. Gmel., Juniperus procera Hochst. ex Endl., Millettia ferruginea (Hochst.) Baker, Olea europaea L. subsp. cuspidata (Wall. ex G. Don) Cif., Podocarpus falcatus (Thunb.) R. Br. ex Mirb. and Prunus africana (Hook. f.) Kalkman. We used the ink and vinegar method to stain AMF in roots. RC levels ranged from 8.00 to 99.67% and were generally higher than the RC levels reported from other similar nurseries in Ethiopia. SA levels ranged from 1 to 25 spores g⁻¹ and were comparable with some reports from the field in Ethiopia but they were lower than levels reported by another similar study. RC was more affected by host species than nursery location, while the reverse was true for SA. The results also showed that nursery management could improve AMF status among seedlings. When all nursery tree species were considered, RC and SA levels were unrelated. No strong correlation existed between the nursery management variables considered and RC or SA. However, considering C. africana, J. procera and P. falcatus separately, RC-age (r_s = 0.829, P = 0.042) correlation for O. europaea and RC-pot diameter (r_s = 0.820, P = 0.046), RC-pot volume (r_s = 0.928, P = 0.008) and SA-age (r_s = 0.943, P = 0.005) correlations for C. africana, were significant, strong and positive. Generally, most of the tree species and particularly, early-mid successional tree species had sufficient AMF inoculum. Hence, only the mid-late successional tree species; J. procera, P. falcatus, and P. africana may require AMF inoculation, preferably, during filed planting. Based on our results, age and pot volume were identified to be important variables potentially affecting RC and SA. To better understand the effects of these and other nursery management variables, additional study is required. We demonstrated for the first time that black Hero ink is suitable for staining root AMF and can be used in future AMF research.

我们调查了十个苗圃的丛枝菌根真菌（AMF）状况，这些苗圃适合恢复埃塞俄比亚干燥的常绿Afromontane森林。我们量化了九种本地树种（即相思树种）的幼苗中的AMF根定植（RC）和孢子丰度（SA）。前Benth。，Cordia africana Lam。，Dovyalis abyssinica（A. Rich。）Warb。，Hagenia abyssinica JF Gmel。，Juniperus procera Hochst。ex Endl。，Millettia ferruginea（Hochst。）Baker，Olea europaea L. subsp。cuspidata（Wall。ex G.Don）Cif。，罗汉松（Thunb。）R. Br。前Mirb。和非洲李（勾子。）加尔克曼。我们使用墨水和醋的方法对根中的AMF进行​​染色。RC水平范围为8.00至99.67％，通常高于埃塞俄比亚其他类似苗圃的RC水平。SA的水平范围为1到25个孢子g ^-1，与埃塞俄比亚的一些田野报告相当，但低于另一项类似研究报告的水平。RC对寄主物种的影响比对苗圃的影响更大，而对SA则相反。结果还表明，苗圃管理可以改善幼苗中的AMF状况。当考虑所有苗圃树种时，RC和SA水平无关。所考虑的苗圃管理变量与RC或SA之间没有强相关性。但是，考虑到非洲念珠菌，J.的Procera和P. falcatus分开，RC-年龄（ř_小号 = 0.829，P  = 0.042），用于相关O.油橄榄和RC-锅直径（ř_小号 = 0.820，P  = 0.046），RC-罐体积（ř_小号 = 0.928，P  = 0.008）和非洲 驼背（SA）年龄（r _s = 0.943，P  = 0.005）的相关性是显着，强且正的。通常，大多数树种，尤其是中早演替树种都有足够的AMF接种物。因此，只有中晚期演替树种；J.的Procera，Pal falcatus和P.africana可能需要接种AMF，最好是在田间种植。根据我们的结果，确定年龄和底池容量是可能影响RC和SA的重要变量。为了更好地理解这些以及其他育苗管理变量的影响，需要进行额外的研究。我们首次证明了黑色Hero墨水适用于对根AMF进行​​染色，并可用于将来的AMF研究中。