The propagules of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi capable of initiating VAM infection after topsoil disturbance

Summary The removal and storage of topsoil decreases the infectivity of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi. The propagules of VAM fungi include spores, root fragments containing hyphae and vesicles, and soil hyphae. The viability of each type of propagule after disturbance will determine the initiation of VAM associations with plants recolonizing the disturbed site. This study aimed to examine which of the propagules of VAM fungi are capable of initiating VAM infection after soil disturbance. Soil from an open woodland site of low soil fertility, in southeastern Australia was wetsieved through a tier of three sieves (1 mm, 250 m and 106 m), and the following fractions were extracted: (i) root fragments, (ii) fungal hyphae, and (iii) VAM spores. Each fraction was tested to determine its potential to initiate VAM. Hyphae of VAM fungi grew from root fragments within 14 days. The VAM spore fraction initiated VAM infection after 28 days. VAM hyphal fragments did not produce any VAM infection even after 42 days.     

Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi,particularly Glomus tenue,in Venezuelan bromeliad epiphytes

The mycorrhizal status of water-impounding tank bromeliad epiphytes from three locales differing in altitude and moisture regime within Venezuelan cloud forest was examined. Species of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi found in arboreal soils were compared to VAM fungi found in terrestrial soils. Sixteen of the 19 epiphytes examined for the presence of VAM fungi had roots with infection stages; 14 of these specimens showed growth of the fine endophyte Glomus tenue. Fine endophyte was the only VAM fungus found associated with epiphytes in the driest locale studied, while coarse VAM fungi (Gigaspora and Scutellospora spp.) were found at sampling locales receiving more moisture. Root infection was usually composed of intercellular hyphae and peletons; few arbuscules were observed. However, abundant extracellular hyphae were often observed tangled about roots in arboreal soil. It is concluded that epiphytic bromeliads probably benefit, at least periodically, from VAM fungi scavenging for sporadically available nutrients in arboreal soils. Glomus tenue may be particularly important as a colonizing VAM fungus in drier sites of Venezuelan cloud forest. The species composition of VAM fungi in arboreal soils was different to that of terrestrial soils sampled directly under epiphytic bromeliad perches, suggesting that VAM fungi species associated with bromeliads are dispersed to their hosts by vagile animal vectors.     

Diversity and classification of mycorrhizal associations

Most mycorrhizas are 'balanced' mutualistic associations in which the fungus and plant exchange commodities required for their growth and survival. Myco-heterotrophic plants have 'exploitative' mycorrhizas where transfer processes apparently benefit only plants. Exploitative associations are symbiotic (in the broad sense), but are not mutualistic. A new definition of mycorrhizas that encompasses all types of these associations while excluding other plant-fungus interactions is provided. This definition recognises the importance of nutrient transfer at an interface resulting from synchronised plant-fungus development. The diversity of interactions between mycorrhizal fungi and plants is considered. Mycorrhizal fungi also function as endophytes, necrotrophs and antagonists of host or non-host plants, with roles that vary during the lifespan of their associations. It is recommended that mycorrhizal associations are defined and classified primarily by anatomical criteria regulated by the host plant. A revised classification scheme for types and categories of mycorrhizal associations defined by these criteria is proposed. The main categories of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal associations (VAM) are 'linear' or 'coiling', and of ectomycorrhizal associations (ECM) are 'epidermal' or 'cortical'. Subcategories of coiling VAM and epidermal ECM occur in certain host plants. Fungus-controlled features result in 'morphotypes' within categories of VAM and ECM. Arbutoid and monotropoid associations should be considered subcategories of epidermal ECM and ectendomycorrhizas should be relegated to an ECM morphotype. Both arbuscules and vesicles define mycorrhizas formed by glomeromycotan fungi. A new classification scheme for categories, subcategories and morphotypes of mycorrhizal associations is provided.     

Mycorrhizal status of epiphytes in Malaysian oil palm plantations

Epiphytic plants were collected from four oil palm plantations in Peninsular Malaysia and their mycorrhizal status determined. Conspecific plants with a terrestrial habit (16 species) and rhizosphere soils were also examined for mycorrhizal colonization and glomalean fungi, respectively. Twelve species of glomalean fungi were recovered from the four oil palm plantation soils. Of the 29 epiphytic species in 16 families belonging to the bryophytes, pteridophytes and angiosperms, only four species of angiosperms that were facultative epiphytes and a hemiepiphyte growing within 0.4 m of ground level had vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi. Bioassays of organic debris from oil palm trunks did not produce vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizas on maize. Six epiphytic species grown in the greenhouse in pots containing oil palm rhizosphere soils rooted and had VAM fungi and thus may be facultative epiphytes. Five other epiphyte species failed to grow in pots and are probably obligate epiphytes. Seven epiphyte species that established themselves in pots failed to form vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizas.     

Sequences and interactions of mycorrhizal fungi on birch

Summary Soil cores collected under a birch tree (Betula pubescens) on an experimental plot showed a progressive change in types of sheathing mycorrhiza with distance from the tree base. Seedlings grown in cores in a glasshouse also developed different mycorrhizal types depending on distance from the tree at which the cores were taken, but the types on seedlings were often different from those in the parent cores. When cores were taken directly beneath fruitbodies and sown to birch in a glasshouse, seedlings developed mycorrhizas of Laccaria, Inocybe and Hebeloma in cores from beneath these fruitbodies, but they seldom developed Lactarius mycorrhizas and never developed Leccinum mycorrhizas in cores taken beneath these fruitbodies. Similarly, when seedlings were grown in soils supplemented with vermiculite-peat inocula in a glasshouse, Laccaria and Hebeloma readily formed mycorrhizas, butLactarius pubescens seldom did so and Leccinum andAmanita muscaria never dit so. Yet all these fungi form mycorrhizas on birch seedlings in aseptic conditions.The results suggest a distinction between early stage and late stage mycorrhizal fungi of birch. Early stage fungi readily infect seedlings from resident or introduced inoculum in normal, unsterile soil, whereas late stage fungi do not readily form mycorrhizas in these conditions.     

Vesicular arbuscular mycorrhiza (VAM) in pioneer salt marsh plants of the Ganges river delta in West Bengal (India)

VA mycorrhizal colonization of four species of pioneer salt marsh plants including two species of chenopodiaceae at the terminal Gangetic delta in India, is reported. Five common species of VAM fungi were recorded from rhizosphere soils of the plant species. Population of spores of VAM fungi and effective inoculum potential of these fungi in rhizosphere soils as determined by the MPN-method were rather low.     

Nutrient uptake in mycorrhizal symbiosis

The role of mycorrhizal fungi in acquisition of mineral nutrients by host plants is examined for three groups of mycorrhizas. These are; the ectomycorrhizas (ECM), the ericoid mycorrhizas (EM), and the vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizas (VAM). Mycorrhizal infection may affect the mineral nutrition of the host plant directly by enhancing plant growth through nutrient acquisition by the fungus, or indirectly by modifying transpiration rates and the composition of rhizosphere microflora. A capacity for the external hyphae to take up and deliver nutrients to the plant has been demonstrated for the following nutrients and mycorrhizas; P (VAM, EM, ECM), NH₄ ⁺ (VAM, EM, ECM), NO₃ ^- (ECM), K (VAM, ECM), Ca (VAM, EM), SO₄ ^2- (VAM), Cu (VAM), Zn (VAM) and Fe (EM). In experimental chambers, the external hyphae of VAM can deliver up to 80% of plant P, 25% of plant N, 10% of plant K, 25% of plant Zn and 60% of plant Cu. Knowledge of the role of mycorrhiza in the uptake of nutrients other than P and N is limited because definitive studies are few, especially for the ECM. Although further quantification is required, it is feasible that the external hyphae may provide a significant delivery system for N, K, Cu and Zn in addition to P in many soils. Proposals that ECM and VAM fungi contribute substantially to the Mg, B and Fe nutrition of the host plant have not been substantiated. ECM and EM fungi produce ectoenzymes which provide host plants with the potential to access organic N and P forms that are normally unavailable to VAM fungi or to non mycorrhizal roots. The relative contribution of these nutrient sources requires quantification in the field. Further basic research, including the quantification of nutrient uptake and transport by fungal hyphae in soil and regulation at the fungal-plant interface, is essential to support the selection and utilization of mycorrhizal fungi on a commercial scale.     

Response of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizas of maize to various rates of P addition to different rooting zones

Colonization of plant roots by vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi is known to be reduced as the phosphorus nutrition of the plant is increased. It is generally accepted that the concentration of P in the plant rather than the soil regulates VAM colonization. Whether it is the shoot P concentration, the mean P concentration in the root system or the P concentration in the specific root being colonized is not known, but is of agronomic significance because fertilizer P is frequently applied in concentrated zones which would be expected to result in higher P concentration in roots growing in the fertilized zone than in the remainder of the root system. Growth chamber and field experiments were conducted to determine the effect on colonization of supplying varying amounts of P to different portions of the rooting zone. In growth chamber studies using a split-pot technique, the proportion of maize (Zea mays L.) root length containing arbuscules in a high-P zone was lower than that of roots of the same plant growing in a low- or medium-P zone. Root P concentration was higher in the high-P zone. In a field experiment conducted over a two-year period, VAM colonization of roots of young maize plants growing in fertilized soil was affected differently than that of roots growing outside the fertilized zone. A small addition of fertilizer P increased colonization of roots in the fertilized soil, but further additions resulted in an abrupt decline followed by a slower further decline, although colonization was not eliminated even by rates of 1600 g P g^-1 soil. Colonization of roots growing outside the fertilized zone declined gradually with increasing P addition but the overall decline was less than for roots in the fertilized zone. The data support the hypothesis that it is P concentration in the portion of the root system being colonized rather than the general P status of the plant which regulates VAM colonization. The agronomic implication of this is that, although a fertilizer band may reduce VAM colonization of roots in the band volume, roots growing outside this volume may be well colonized so the mycorrhizal symbiosis may be an important contributor to P nutrition.     

Infection by the VA-mycorrhizal fungusGlomus caledonium inHedysarum coronarium as influenced by host plant and P content of soil

The low degree of infection ofHedysarum coronarium L. (sulla) exposed to inoculum of the VAM endophyteGlomus caledonium was investigated. Infection began after a prolonged lag phase and remained at very low levels even after three months’ growth. Neither very high rates of inoculum, nor very low P content of the soil raised the low infection level of the sulla plants. There appeared to be some differences in rate of infection among ten different ecotypes of sulla but the level of infection remained low in all cases. In all tested populations some plants remained uninfected. The low infection rate of sulla may therefore have a genetic basis. It was shown that the growth ofH. coronarium is hardly improved by phosphate fertilization. This may explain the poor response of this plant species, adapted to grow in nutrient-deficient soil, to VAM. Programmes aimed at increasing the productivity in marginal soils through the introduction of efficient VAM endophytes should take into account the fact that certain plant species growing in marginal soils may not always benefit from mycorrhizal inoculation, due to their inherently low mycorrhizal dependency.     

Use of sucrose-agar globule with root exudates for mass production of vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

A sucrose-agar globule (SAG) was newly introduced to increase production of the vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungal spores, Gigaspora gigantea and Glomus fasciculatum. An SAG inoculum and a sucrose-agar globule with root exudates (SAGE) inoculum were prepared, and their spore productions were compared with a soil inoculum. When the SAGE was used as the inoculum on sucrose-agar medium plates the number of spores was increased (35% more than the soil inoculum). After the soil inoculum and SAGE were inoculated on an experimental plant, Zingiber officinale, the percentage root colonization, number of VAM spores, and dry matter content were analyzed. It was observed that the SAGE showed a higher percentage of root colonization (about 10% more), and increases in the number of spores (about 26%) and dry matter (more than 13%) for the two VAM fungal spores than the soil inoculum. The results of this study suggested that the SAGE inoculum may be useful for the mass production of VAM fungi and also for the large scale production of VAM fungal fertilizer.     

Effect of salinity on mycorrhizal onion and tomato in soil with and without additional phosphate

Summary Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (VAM) are known to increase plant growth in saline soils. Previous studies, however, have not distinguished whether this growth response is due to enhanced P uptake or a direct mechanism of increased plant salt tolerance by VAM. In a glasshouse experiment onions (Allium cepa L.) were grown in sterilized, low-P sandy loam soil amended with 0, 0.8, 1.6 mmol P kg^–1 soil with and without mycorrhizal inoculum. Pots were irrigated with saline waters having conductivities of 1.0, 2.8, 4.3, and 5.9 dS m^–1. Onion colonized withGlomus deserticola (Trappe, Bloss, and Menge) increased growth from 394% to 100% over non-inoculated control plants when soil P was low ( 0.2 mmol kg^–1 NaHCO₃-extractable P) at soil saturation extract salinities from 1.1 dS m^–1 to 8.8 dS m^–1. When 0.8 and 1.6 mM P was added no dry weight differences due to VAM were observed, however, K and P concentrations were higher in VAM plants in saline treatments.Glomus fasciculatum (Gerdeman and Trappe) andGlomus mosseae (Nicol. and Gerd.) isolates increased growth of VAM tomato 44% to 193% in non-sterilized, saline soil (10 dS m^–1 saturation extract) despite having little effect on growth in less saline conditions when soil P was low. Higher tomato water potentials, along with improved K nutrition by VAM in onion, indicate mechanisms other than increased P nutrition may be important for VAM plants growing under saline stress. These effects appear to be secondary to the effects of VAM on P uptake.     

Phosphorus and intraspecific density alter plant responses to arbuscular mycorrhizas

We investigated how phosphorus availability, intraspecific density, and their interaction affect plant responses to arbuscular mycorrhizas. Four facultatively mycotrophic species: chile, cilantro, tomato, and corn were examined separately in pot experiments that employed a tropical phosphorus-immobilizing soil. Each experiment comprised nine soluble phosphorus additions, two levels of intraspecific plant density, and inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi or not. High phosphorus signi- ficantly diminished mycorrhizal colonization of corn, cilantro, and tomato, but not chile, which was highly variably colonized. Corn roots were colonized by other root-inhabiting fungi, and mycorrhizas significantly reduced colonization by these potential root parasites. High phosphorus significantly increased relative growth rates (RGR) of all species, and high density significantly reduced RGR of cilantro, tomato, and corn. Chile showed little growth at any but the highest phosphorus additions, and consequently had no RGR response to density or mycorrhizas. Mycorrhiza inoculation caused transient depression of corn growth during the first month, but mycorrhizas increased corn RGR during the second month of growth. Both RGR and dry weights at harvest, cilantro, tomato, and corn benefited from mycorrhizas at low phosphorus availability, but this benefit diminished or changed to disadvantage as phosphorus availability increased. At low phosphorus availability, high density increased the dry weight of mycorrhizal cilantro and thereby amplified the benefit of mycorrhizas. At high phosphorus availability, increased density diminished the effects of mycorrhizas on dry weight, reducing mycorrhiza benefit to tomato and chile and reducing mycorrhiza detriment to cilantro. This study demonstrates that for three of the four plant species examined, phosphorus availability, intraspecific density, and their interaction significantly modify plant responses to arbuscular mycorrhizas.     

Receptivity of various wheat cultivars to infection by VA-mycorrhizal fungi as influenced by inoculum potential and the relation of VAM-effectiveness to succinic dehydrogenase activity of the mycelium in the roots

Wheat cultivars grown in pots in a greenhouse were inoculated either once or twice with the vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (VAMF) Glomus mosseae. If inoculum was only added to the soil once (before planting) the cultivars showed differences in subsequent VAM development. If additional inoculum was added ten days after planting, VAM development was much increased and cultivars which remained without VAM after only one inoculum application now became mycorrhizal.Succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) activity decreased throughout the experiment, but this decrease was less rapid in mycelium in twice-inoculated plants.No close relationship between SDH-activity and plant growth (VAM effectiveness) was found.     

Dynamics of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae during old field succession

Summary The species composition of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungal communities changed during secondary succession of abandoned fields based on a field to forest chronosequence. Twenty-five VAM fungal species were identified. Seven species were clearly early successional and five species were clearly late successional. The total number of VAM fungal species did not increase with successional time, but diversity as measured by the Shannon-Wiener index tended to increase, primarily because the community became more even as a single species, Glomus aggregatum, became less dominant in the older sites. Diversity of the VAM fungal community was positively correlated with soil C and N. The density of VAM fungi, as measured by infectivity and total spore count, first increased with time since abandonment and then decreased in the late successional forest sites. Within 12 abandoned fields, VAM fungal density increased with increasing soil pH, H₂O soluble soil C, and root biomass, but was inversely related to extractable soil P and percent cover of non-host plant species. The lower abundance of VAM fungi in the forest sites compared with the field sites agrees with the findings of other workers and corresponds with a shift in the dominant vegetation from herbaceous VAM hosts to woody ectomycorrhizal hosts.     

The impact of wildfire on vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and their potential to influence the re-establishment of post-fire plant communities

Wildfires are a typical event in many Australian plant communities. Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi are important for plant growth in many communities, especially on infertile soils, yet few studies have examined the impact of wildfire on the infectivity of VAM fungi. This study took the opportunity offered by a wildfire to compare the infectivity and abundance of spores of VAM fungi from: (i) pre-fire and post-fire sites, and (ii) post-fire burned and unburned sites. Pre-fire samples had been taken in May 1990 and mid-December 1990 as part of another study. A wildfire of moderate intensity burned the site in late December 1990. Post-fire samples were taken from burned and unburned areas immediately after the fire and 6 months after the fire. A bioassay was used to examine the infectivity of VAM fungi. The post-fire soil produced significantly less VAM infection than the pre-fire soil. However, no difference was observed between colonization of plant roots by VAM fungi in soil taken from post-fire burned and adjacent unburned plots. Soil samples taken 6 months after the fire produced significantly more VAM than corresponding soil samples taken one year earlier. Spore numbers were quantified be wet-sieving and decanting of 100-g, air-dried soil subsamples and microscopic examination. For the most abundant spore type, spore numbers were significantly lower immediately post-fire. However, no significant difference in spore numbers was observed between post-fire burned and unburned plots. Six months after the fire, spore numbers were the same as the corresponding samples taken 1 year earlier. All plants appearing in the burned site resprouted from underground organs. All post-fire plant species recorded to have mycorrhizal associations before the fire had the same associations after the fire, except for species of Conospermum (Proteaceae), which lacked internal vesicles in cortical cells in the post-fire samples.     

Soil disturbance and infection of Trifolium repens roots by vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Removal and storage of the surface layers of soil is known to decrease the infectivity of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi. Previous studies have mostly examined the effects of profound soil disturbance on the infectivity of VAM fungi. This study examined the effects of increasing degrees of topsoil disturbance on the infectivity of VAM fungi in two sites on sandstone soils in southeastern Australia. Intact soil blocks (20×20×15 cm) were taken from each of the two sites. Increasing degrees of topsoil disturbance were achieved by cutting the blocks longitudinally into four (dist. 1), nine (dist. 2), and 25 (dist. 3) equal portions. Seeds of Trifolium repens L. were sown into the blocks and harvested 14, 21, 28, 35 and 42 days after sowing. At each sampling date, total root length, root length colonised by VAM fungi and shoot dry mass were measured. VAM colonisation had commenced by 14 days in the roots of seedlings grown in intact, dist. 1, and dist. 2 soil blocks. The initiation of VAM colonisation was delayed by up to 6 weeks for seedlings grown in the dist. 3 soil blocks. The low (i.e. dist. 1) and intermediate (i.e. dist. 2) degrees of soil disturbance did not cause a delay in the initiation of VAM, bud did significantly reduce the proportion of root length colonised by VAM fungi after 21 days. After 21 days, shoot dry mass was significantly less in the seedlings grown in the dist. 3 soil blocks though not in the low and intermediate disturbance treatments. It is concluded that the most severe experimental disturbance probably disturbed the external hyphal network and root fragments (containing hyphae and vesicles), which in turn temporarily reduced the infective potential of the fungus to zero. The observed delay in the initiation of VAM in the most disturbed blocks can, therefore, be explained by the time required for hyphae to grow from other propagules in the soil which survived the disturbance event.     

Density dependent interactions between VA mycorrhizal fungi and even-aged seedlings of two perennial Fabaceae species

Summary The interaction of density and mycorrhizal effects on the growth, mineral nutrition and size distribution of seedlings of two perennial members of the Fabaceae was investigated in pot culture. Seedlings of Otholobium hirtum and Aspalathus linearis were grown at densities of 1, 4, 8 and 16 plants per 13-cm pot with or without vesicular-arbuscular (VA) mycorrhizal inoculum for 120 days. Plant mass, relative growth rates, height and leaf number all decreased with increasing plant density. This was ascribed to the decreasing availability of phosphorus per plant as density increased. O. hirtum was highly dependent on mycorrhizas for P uptake but both mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal A. linearis seedlings were able to extract soil P with equal ease. Plant size distribution as measured by the coefficient of variation (CV) of shoot mass was greater at higher densities. CVs of mycorrhizal O. hirtum plants were higher than those of non-mycorrhizal plants. CVs of the facultatively mycorrhizal A. linearis were similar for both mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal plants. Higher CVs are attributed to resource preemption by larger individuals. Individuals in populations with high CVs will probably survive stress which would result in the extinction of populations with low CVs. Mass of mycorrhizal plants of both species decreased more rapidly with increasing density than did non-mycorrhizal plant mass. It is concluded that the cost of being mycorrhizal increases as plant density increases, while the benefit decreases. The results suggest that mycorrhizas will influence density-dependent population processes of faculative and obligate mycorrhizal species.     

Growth response of Atriplex nummularia to inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi at different salinity levels

Chenopods are generally regarded as non-host plants for mycorrhizal fungi and are believed not to benefit from colonization by mycorrhizal fungi. Perennial Atriplex nummularia Lindl., growing under field conditions, showed a relatively high level of colonization by mycorrhizal fungi (10–30% of root length colonized) in spring and summer. Accordingly, two glasshouse experiments were designed to assess the effects of inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi (with a single species or a mixture of different species) on growth, nutrient uptake, and rhizosphere bacterial community composition of A. nummularia at high and low salinity levels (2.2 and 12 dSm^–1). Only low and patchy colonization by mycorrhizal fungi (1–2 of root length colonized) was detected in inoculated plants under glasshouse conditions which was unaffected by salinity. Despite the low colonization, inoculation increased plant growth and affected nutrient uptake at both salinity levels. The effects were higher at an early stage of plant development (6weeks) than at a later stage (9–10 weeks). Salinity affected the bacterial community composition in the rhizosphere as examined by ribosomal intergenic spacer amplification (RISA) of 16S rDNA, digitization of the band patterns and multivariate analysis. The effects of inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi on growth of A. nummularia may be attributed to (i) direct effects of mycorrhizal fungi on plant nutrient uptake and/or (ii) indirect effects via mycorrhizal-induced changes in the bacterial community composition.     

Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculum potential affects the growth of Stryphnodendron microstachyum seedlings in a Costa Rican human tropical lowland

This study used a plant bioassay to investigate the vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) inoculum potential of soil from three vegetation types (fern, secondary forest, and grass) in an abandoned pasture in the tropical humid lowlands at La Selva, in northeastern Costa Rica. Growth, measured as seedling height, number of leaves, and total (above- and belowground) biomass, of Stryphnodendron microstachyum Poepp. et Endl. (Synon. S. excelsum Harms) seedlings was significantly lower when grown in soil inoculum from the fern areas than in soil inoculum from the forest and grass areas. However, S. microstachyum seedlings grown in the fern inoculum had significantly greater VAM colonization than seedlings grown in the forest and grass inoculum. In addition, roots collected from a dominant plant species from each of the three vegetation types showed that the fern (Nephrolepsis biserrata) had significantly greater mycorrhizal colonization than the tree (Pentaclethra macroloba (Willd.) Kuntze or the grass (Brachiaria spp.). The results of this study suggest that differences in mycorrhizal inoculum potential among vegetation types and its effects on seedling growth may have important implications for the restoration and management of degraded lands.     

Occurrence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in a phosphorus-poor wetland and mycorrhizal response to phosphorus fertilization

The presence of arbuscular mycorrhizas in fens has received little attention, but because fen plants are often phosphorus limited, the plant-fungus interaction could be an important factor in plant competition for phosphorus. In this field study, we determined mycorrhizal colonization rates for 18 fen plant species. Also in the field, we examined the effect of four different forms of phosphorus on the percentage colonization for one fen plant species, Solidago patula. We found that in a species-rich, phosphorus-poor wetland both mycorrhizal and nonmycorrhizal species were common. Nine of ten dicotyledonous species examined formed arbuscular mycorrhizas, while all monocotyledonous species were at most very weakly mycorrhizal. A morphological explanation for this pattern is that the monocots in our study have more extensive aerenchyma, especially in coarse roots. Therefore, monocots are able to transport oxygen to their roots more effectively than dicots. In the organic wetland soil, additional oxygen in the rhizosphere promotes phosphorus mineralization and availability. Two of the monocot species (Typha latifolia and Carex lasiocarpa), which have been described previously as mycorrhizal in other wetland types, are surprisingly nonmycorrhizal in our phosphorus-poor study site, suggesting that a mycorrhizal association would not offer improved phosphorus nutrition to these species. In contrast, our field phosphorus addition decreased mycorrhizal colonization in S. patula, suggesting that one benefit to S. patula of the mycorrhizas is phosphorus uptake.