Mike O'Brien

Mike joined the Horton lab in the summer of 2007. He is investigating whether soil harvested from native eastern hemlock stands can be used to inoculate hemlock seedlings with mycorrhizal fungi. The seedlings will later be planted in stands that are believed to have had a hemlock component, but are now dominated by maple and oak because of previous disturbance from pasturing. This project is funded by the Mianus River Gorge Preserve (http://www.mianus.org/).

Here Mike plants hemlock seed into soils.