Abstract
A B S T R A C T Inoculation of whitebark pine ( Pinus albicaulis Engelm. [Pinaceae]) with native ectomycorrhizal fungus Suillus sibiricus (Bonard.) Singer was investigated under a variety of nursery scenarios. Because fertilization often prevents mycorrhizal colonization in the greenhouse, we tested a low nitrogen (N) fer tilizer. In general, ectomycorrhizal abundance was greater in longer containers (21 cm compared with 14 cm); when inocu lum (slurry) originated from fresh, rather than dried, sporo carps; and when seedlings were subsequently given very low (13 ppm N every other week) or no additional N fertilizer. Slurry type interacted with container length, and fertilizer rate and colonization rates were all low on seedlings in short con tainers, except for those that were not fertilized and given slurry from dried sporocarps. Results show that drying and stor ing sporocarps for future use is possible in slurry although cer tain conditions might apply. No differences were observed in colonization for the inoculation methods tested, and injection is recommended over the drip method for ease of application. Further research is necessary to refine and optimize fertilizer regime and container type and size for whitebark pine seed lings to be inoculated in the greenhouse prior to outplanting on high-elevation restoration sites. Whitebark pine is currently awaiting official listing as an endangered species in the US and is already listed as such in Canada. Lonergan ER, Cripps CL. 2013. Use of low nitrogen fertilizer as a strat egy for maintaining mycorrhizal colonization on whitebark pine seed lings inoculated with native fungi in the greenhouse. Native Plants Jour nal 14(3):
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