Soil-microbial-plant signals and effects on plant eco-physiological performance for mine site restoration

Mining activities have far-reaching ecological impacts that often lead to ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss. This thesis reports on pioneering research evaluating the use of commercial microbial inoculants for ecological restoration of post-mining substrates of Western Australia. These substrates are often highly challenging for plant growth, and plant species are often poorly known. Evidence obtained from plant physiological measurements, phytohormone analysis and soil microbiomes highlight that further research is required before advocating the use of commercial microbial inoculants in post-mining ecological restoration. This thesis presents methods and insight that will benefit future research and industry applications.