Effects of different Kalahari-desert VA mycorrhizal communities on mineral acquisition and depletion from the soil by host plants

Abstract

Seedlings of Vangueria infausta, an indigenous Kalahari tree, were used as plant symbionts in a pot experiment designed to measure the effect of three local vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungal communities on mineral acquisition and concentrations in host shoots. VAM significantly affected seedlings size. The highest level of VAM mycorrhizae occurred in soil with intermediate P concentration. Two VAM communities had the highest mycorrhizal response in their soils of origin. The presence of VAM caused a significant depletion of P from soils. VAM communities differed in their ability to promote P, Ca and N uptake. A significant interaction between VAM community and soil type—in terms of Ca and N concentration in shoots—indicates a local adaptation of the VAM species.