Description: The project aimed to restore degraded and threatened ultramafic environments due to mining activities, seeking to preserve their unique plant biodiversity characterised by an 82% endemism rate. Through innovative techniques involving seed coating with microbial biofertilizers using the seed bomb approach, native plant species tolerant to this process were carefully selected. Validation of this method occurred via a field test, concurrently integrating arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inocula, developed through collaboration between the University of New Caledonia and Aura Pacifica, known for enhancing plant growth and metal tolerance. Baseline studies on 12 species across six treatments indicated a reduction in seed germination by 20-50%, yet the inclusion of bio-stimulants in the coating notably improved survival rates, cost-effectiveness, and plant density. Further field trials involved four selected species, refining germination rates, mycorrhizal frequency, and mitigating mold formation, thus advancing and optimising the seed bomb-based restoration techniques for degraded ultramafic ecosystems.
Duration: 19 months
