The fate of soil‐derived phosphorus in mycelial cord systems of Phanerochaete velutina and Phallus impudicus

Abstract

SUMMARYThis study demonstrated the direct uptake of [32P]phosphorus from soil by ‘foraging’ cord systems of Phanerochaete velutina (DC: Pers.) Parmasto and Phallus impudicus (L.) Pers., grown from 4 cm3beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) wood inocula. Total uptake was independent of, but ‘allocation’ within cord systems dependent on, species, the state of decay of wood inocula, and phosphorus availability in different parts of cord systems. Cords were shown to be functional pathways for translocation of 32P between distant resource units and more than 90 % of accumulated phosphorus was translocated to the inocula or to new resource units. Allocation of opportunistically‐scavenged phosphorus was in preferential order of the potential of new resource units as carbon sources and in proportion to the mass of like resource units. Non‐destructive 32P determination, using a scintillation probe, showed that significant differences (P 0.05) in allocation to combinations of new resource units could be detected within 12 d and corresponded with the results of destructive total 32P determination after nine weeks. The results are discussed in terms of the role of saprotrophic cord‐forming basidiomycetes in nutrient cycling and the efficiency of nutrient allocation within their cord systems.