Actinorhizal Trees Useful in Cool to Cold Regions
NFT Highlights,NFTA 86-03, May 1986, FACTNEt, Winrick International
A class of plants that helped develop soil on glaciated sites in the past has a future in agroforestry and land reclamation projects of today and tomorrow. These plants are known as actinorhizae, as they are nodulated by the nitrogen-fixing actinomycete, Frankia These predominately temperate trees are especially useful in areas where the mostly tropical woody legumes can not live or thrive.
Actinorhizal plants have been used historically to increase fertility in agricultural systems. Lack of knowledge about the group's ecology prevents more widespread user but the trees are currently used in the following four ways: