Abstract
The present paper analyses the community structure of ectomycorrhiza (ECM) and arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) fungi associated with seven different poplar clone types growing in a patch system on soil from four different former land use types, originating from spruce forest, poplar stand, grassland and cornfield. We determined the extent to which ECM and AM play a role on the studied factors (genotype, former land use type and host growth). The diversity of ECM and AM fungal communities was estimated by morphological and molecular analyses of the 18S and ITS of the rDNA genes. Fifteen ECM fungal taxa and four AM groups were distinguished in the roots of the poplars grown for 18 months on soil originating from the respective land use types. The poplar clones showed significantly different rates of shoot length and AM colonization, especially concerning the occurrence of Glomus intraradices and Scutellospora sp. Populus deltoides had significantly higher Scutellospora sp. abundance. Although ECM abundance and diversity was high, no significant differences between the different land use types was found. However, some ECM fungi like Paxillus involutus, Laccaria proxima and Laccaria tortilis showed significant preferences for specific land use types. Our findings suggest that both factors, former land use type and poplar genotype, are important determinants of mycorrhizal colonization of the host plants.
Highlights
Poplars are among the superior hardwood trees used as a source of wood biomass for bioenergy production, plywood confection, phytoremediation and, owing to their superior biomass productivity, they have been used for short-rotation coppice cultures [1]
Dual mycorrhizal colonization by ECM and arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) fungi was observed in the roots of all poplar clones in all soils from different former land use types
The fact that we found lower AM abundance in the P- and S-soil could be attributed to the competitive character of L. tortilis and L. proxima, whereas in C-soil, where P. involutus was most dominant, AM fungi were not reduced in the same way
Summary
Poplars are among the superior hardwood trees used as a source of wood biomass for bioenergy production, plywood confection, phytoremediation and, owing to their superior biomass productivity, they have been used for short-rotation coppice cultures [1]. Whereas some studies consider that the colonization by AM versus ECM fungi is influenced by the local soil environment [8,9], other studies suggest that host plant genetics may play a role in determining the dominant mycorrhizal type in dually colonized hosts [10,11,12,13,14]. AM fungi cannot be identified with the help of microscopic methods because of a lack of diagnostic features of their intra- and extraradical hyphae These fundamental problems of identification rendered the study of their diversity, in their natural habitat the soil and roots, extremely difficult. The understanding of the roles of environmental factors and host genetics in determining the relative mycorrhizal colonization of dually colonized plant species may provide valuable insights into the functioning and importance of these mutualisms for renaturation programs
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