Arbuscular fungi and mycorrhizae (Glomales) of the Hel Peninsula,Poland

In the years 1985–1989, the occurrence of arbuscular fungi and mycorrhizae on the Hel Peninsula (Poland) was investigated with the help of 45 soil and root samples collected under 20 plant species of eight families. Except for Zea mays, the other plant species were from uncultivated sites. All soil samples contained spores of arbuscular fungi, of which about 45% were of the genus Glomus. Acaulospora spp. preferred members of the Cupressaceae. Spores of Gigaspora occurred rarely and only in two plant families. Glomus spp. were most frequently associated with plants of the Rosaceae, and species of Scutellospora were found at markedly higher frequencies among roots of plants of the Gramineae and Cupressaceae. A total of 29 spore-forming species and Glomus tenue (a fungus recognizable by its distinctive infections) were found. The most frequently recovered fungus, Glomus tenue, was present in roots of 56.8% of examined plants. Of the spore-forming fungi, the most frequently isolated spores were those of Scutellospora dipurpurascens, then Glomus constrictum, Acaulospora 61, and Glomus microcarpum. The overall spore density in examined samples averaged 99.8 in 100 g dry soil in the range 1 to 547, and was highest in a sample taken from around roots of Festuca arundinacea. The dominant fungi forming spores in sampled soils were Glomus constrictum, Glomus microcarpum, and Scutellospora dipurpurascens. The average species density was 3.9 in 100 g dry soil in the range 1 to 10, and was highest in Corynephorus canescens, Rosa canina, and Thuja occidentalis. Levels of colonization by arbuscular fungi ranged from 0.0 to94.0% (mean 23.3%) of the root length and were highest in Festuca arundinaceae and Zea mays.