Abstract
Despite the extensive literature on mutual interactions between plants and mycorrhizal fungi, and host plants and parasitic plants, little is known about the outcomes of interactions when the three organisms exist in concert with one another. We investigated, in a microcosm experiment, the interactions between Pinus sylvestris L. and the root hemiparasitic Melampyrum pratense L. in the presence/absence of ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi. Mycorrhizal infection significantly increased the biomass of P. sylvestris, whereas the parasitic infection decreased it. Concentration of host phosphorus was greatly increased by the presence of EM fungi. M. pratense plants attached to mycorrhizal pines had higher biomass and produced more flowers than those growing with non-mycorrhizal pines. We attribute the stimulation of parasite performance in the presence of EM fungi to enhanced nutrient availability to the host individuals, and to increased photosynthetic capacity of hosts as a result of increased above-ground biomass.
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