Journal Article

PreJuSER-15610

http://join2-wiki.gsi.de/foswiki/pub/Main/Artwork/join2_logo100x88.png Arbuscular mycorrhizas in phosphate-polluted soil: interrelations between root colonization and nitrogen

Blanke, V. ; Wagner, M. ; Renker, C. ; Lippert, H.FZJ* ; Michulitz, M.FZJ* ; Kuhn, A. J.FZJ* ; Buscot, F.

2011
Springer Science + Business Media B.V Dordrecht [u.a.]

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Please use a persistent id in citations: doi:10.1007/s11104-011-0727-9

Abstract: To investigate whether arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) - abundant in a phosphate-polluted but nitrogen-poor field site - improve plant N nutrition, we carried out a two-factorial experiment, including N fertilization and fungicide treatment. Percentage of root length colonized (% RLC) by AMF and tissue element concentrations were determined for four resident plant species. Furthermore, soil nutrient levels and N effects on aboveground biomass of individual species were measured. Nitrogen fertilization lowered % RLC by AMF of Artemisia vulgaris L., Picris hieracioides L. and Poa compressa L., but not of Bromus japonicus Thunb. This - together with positive N addition effects on N status, N:P-ratio and aboveground biomass of most species - suggested that plants are mycorrhizal because of N deficiency. Fungicide treatment, which reduced % RLC in all species, resulted in lower N concentrations in A. vulgaris and P. hieracioides, a higher N concentration in P. compressa, and did not consistently affect N status of B. japonicus. Evidently, AMF had an influence on the N nutrition of plants in this P-rich soil; however - potentially due to differences in their mycorrhizal responsiveness - not all species seemed to benefit from a mycorrhiza-mediated N uptake and accordingly, N distribution.

Keyword(s): J ; Arbuscular mycorrhiza (auto) ; Benomyl (auto) ; Element concentrations (auto) ; Nitrogen fertilization (auto) ; Phosphate pollution (auto) ; Root colonization (auto)

Note: This work was supported by a grant from the German Research Foundation (GRK 266). We thank Sandra Schau and Boris Borstler for help in the field, Birgit Schulze for freeze-drying of plant samples at the MPI for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Nadine Merki and Karin Luhring for plant element analyses and Claudia Kruger for root staining. We also thank Christoph Scherber for help with statistical analyses, Karen Budge for improving the English of the manuscript and Stefan Hempel for reviewing the manuscript prior to submission. Further, we thank two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments. Scotts Deutschland GmbH provided the fertilizer for free.

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Contributing Institute(s):

1. Zentralabteilung für Chemische Analysen (ZCH)
2. Pflanzenwissenschaften (IBG-2)

Research Program(s):

1. Terrestrische Umwelt (P24)

Appears in the scientific report 2011

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