Ectomycorrhizal communities associated with Tilia amurensis trees in natural versus urban forests of Heilongjiang in northeast China

Abstract

The deciduous linden tree (Tilia amurensis Rupr.) is protected at National Level II in China as a species of ecological and economic importance. The objective of this study was to assess and compare the ectomycorrhizal communities associated with T. amurensis in natural versus urban forests of central Heilongjiang Province. The percentage of T. amurensis colonisation by ectomycorrhiza was more than 60 % in urban forests, compared to 34–49 % in natural forests. Use of a combination of morphological and molecular methods documented 18 ECM (ectomycorrhizal) types among three sites; 12–13 ECM species were identified in the natural sites versus 9 species in the urban site. Four ECM species (Boletus sp., Tuber sp., Inocybe sp.2, Leccinum sp.1) were the dominant mycorrhizal symbionts, and Cenococcum geophilum and Russula sp. were found only in the natural forests.