Specific features of root system morphology and mycorrhiza formation in scots pine seedlings from burned-out areas

Abstract

Morphological parameters of the root system (the length of conducting roots and the number of absorbing roots) and the rate of its mycorrhization have been studied in one-year Scots pine seedlings from burned-out areas of cowberry-herb-green moss pine forest in the northern forest-steppe subzone of Western Siberia. The results show that the length of conducting roots in such seedlings increases, whereas the rate and density of mycorrhiza formation in absorbing roots decrease, compared to those in plants from unburned areas. The structure of underground organs in pine seedlings depends not only on fire intensity but also on the type of substrate in the burned-out area.