Ectomycorrhizal fungal communities of Dipterocarpus alatus seedlings introduced by soil inocula from a natural forest and a plantation

Abstract

We attempted to introduce ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi onto seedlings of Dipterocarpus alatus (Dipterocarpaceae) by soil inocula collected from tree stands of D. alatus. Top soils collected from beneath the trees of D. alatus in a dry evergreen forest and a 15-year-old plantation were inoculated onto germinating seeds of D. alatus. After 7 months of seedling cultivation, ECM fungal communities in the seedlings were investigated based on the sequences of ITS rDNA. The ECM fungi detected were divided into 19 phylotypes by molecular analysis. Most of the phylotypes were identified as ECM fungal taxa, i.e., Clavulina, Laccaria, Lactarius, Tomentella, Pyronemataceae, and Tricholomataceae. Accordingly, we can confirm that soil inoculation is a simple method to induce ECM formation with diverse fungi in pot cultured seedlings, which would be useful for introducing diverse ECM fungi to dipterocarp plantations.