Abstract
Urban trees provide many ecosystem services essential to city dwellers well-being. Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi are symbionts for trees and may also contribute to urban tree health and thus maintenance of the ecosystem services. However, no studies so far have analysed the composition of the ECM community colonising Crimean linden. In this study we investigated ECM associations of Crimean linden trees in the urban environment, comparing street trees with those growing in a park. Moreover, we studied the ECM community of healthy versus unhealthy linden trees growing along a street. The health status of each tree was assessed using tree health indicators. The smallest degree ECM colonisation was observed in unhealthy street trees (40.5%). Cenococcum geophilum was found to be the most abundant ECM fungal species of the Crimean linden growing in the park (23.9%). Our results suggest that the linden trees growing in the park and those growing along the street but without disease symptoms did not differ in their ECM richness. However, the unhealthy street trees showed less ECM diversity and abundance. Moreover, strong negative correlations between the concentrations of Na and Cl in the soil and ECM colonisation were found. This study describes, for the first time, the ECM fungal community on Tilia “Euchlora” trees grown in Europe. We report novel findings on the ECM associations of Crimean linden trees in an urban ecosystem. Further research should focus on the role of native mycorrhizal fungal communities in nutrient acquisition by urban trees in the presence of salt stress.
Highlights
Urban trees and forests are the most prominent elements of the urban landscape.They provide a large number of beneficial urban ecosystem services, including ecological and aesthetic values e.g., air quality improvement [1,2], carbon sequestration [3,4], storm water attenuation [5], and energy conservation [6]
The calculation of the diversity of the ectomycorrhizal fungi (ECM) fungal taxa based on the Shannon–Wiener and Simpson diversity indices revealed that the estimated richness was significantly higher in park trees (PT) and street healthy trees (SHT) than in street unhealthy trees (SUT)
Our results showed that the linden trees growing in the park and those growing along the street but without showed that the linden trees growing in the park and those growing along the street but without disease symptoms did not differ in their ECM richness
Summary
Urban trees and forests are the most prominent elements of the urban landscape (townscape).They provide a large number of beneficial urban ecosystem services, including ecological and aesthetic values e.g., air quality improvement [1,2], carbon sequestration [3,4], storm water attenuation [5], and energy conservation [6]. Among soil microorganisms that are important in the development of boreal trees, ectomycorrhizal fungi (ECM) are of particular interest, as they provide the tree with nutrients, protect its root system from microbial pathogens, and enhance its drought tolerance [13]. This symbiosis is a crucial factor for tree health [14]. ECM fungi play an important role in protection of trees against salt stress in the environment by prevent Na+ and Cl− translocation to leaf tissues and enhance nutrients uptake i.a. phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) [21,22]
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