Root and shoot biomass and mycorrhizal development of white spruce seedlings naturally regenerating in interior Alaskan floodplain communities

Abstract

Root and shoot biomass and mycorrhizal development were examined for white spruce (Piceaglauca (Moench) Voss) seedlings naturally regenerating in four floodplain communities in the boreal forest. Mean seedling biomass was highest in the open community and lowest in the spruce community. Seedlings growing in the open community had higher root:shoot ratios (0.50) compared with seedlings growing in the willow (0.34), alder (0.20), and spruce (0.24) communities. Essentially all short roots of spruce seedlings growing in all four communities were infected by mycorrhizal fungi throughout the growing season.