noblebill

I grew up in the Berkshires in western MA, and in the 40s and 50s worked at a Mass Audubon sanctuary. Every winter the sanctuary director and I would trim the outer, decayed wood off fallen chestnut trunks, split out posts and rails for fencing from the sound wood, and sled them out to use. At that time, I knew dozens of repeated sprouts that would grow to sapling size and then die from the blight. I wonder if any of those are still sprouting? One of the great things about trying to restore the chestnut is its great N - S range, which suggests that restoration might be able to cope with climate warming.

I'll leave more remarks in the comments, but I wanted to ask - Are you harvesting mycorhiza from the vicinity of living American Chestnut roots? You don't mention that, but I'm sure information about many surviving root systems must be accessible. Great study, and one that feeds directly into other restoration work!

I've been fascinated w Azolla ever since the Vietnam War and its role in rice cultivation in the Northern ricelands. With its spread over Asia, are you seeing lots of landraces?