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The ectomycorrhizal community structure in high mountain Norway spruce stands

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Abstract

The species composition of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal communities can be strongly influenced by abiotic and biotic factors, which determine interactions among the species such as resource partitioning, disturbance, competition, or relationships with other organisms. To verify whether ectomycorrhization of the root tips and composition of the ECM community in Norway spruce vary according to site features and if ECM species peculiar to these environmental variables can be detected, ten comparable stands differing in bedrock pH and exposure were selected and studied. The results demonstrated that tips vitality and ectomycorrhization degree do not change significantly either on the same tree, or among trees growing in the same stand, whereas they differ greatly with bedrock pH and exposure, even if no spatial or temporal trend were found. ECM species composition revealed instead a significant connection with the two environmental features, with a few species significantly associated to them. The results suggest that pH/exposure patterns play a primary role in the adaptive selection of ECM species constituting the consortium.

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Acknowledgments

The Ph.D. scholarship of the first author and her research were supported by the Centro di Ecologia Alpina (TN), through the “Fondo per i progetti di ricerca della Provincia autonoma di Trento”, “DINAMUS Project”, 437/2002.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento Territorio e Sistemi Agro-Forestali, Università degli Studi di Padova, viale dell’Università 16, 35020, Padova, Legnaro, Italy

    Linda Scattolin & Lucio Montecchio

  2. Centro di Ecologia Alpina, Viote del Monte Bondone, 38040, Trento, Italy

    Linda Scattolin

  3. Department Biology and GeoBio-Center (LMU), University of München, Menzinger Str. 67, 80638, Munchen, Germany

    Reinhard Agerer

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  1. Linda Scattolin
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  2. Lucio Montecchio
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  3. Reinhard Agerer
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Correspondence to Lucio Montecchio.

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Communicated by R. Hampp.

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Scattolin, L., Montecchio, L. & Agerer, R. The ectomycorrhizal community structure in high mountain Norway spruce stands. Trees 22, 13–22 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-007-0164-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-007-0164-9

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