Summary• In-growth mesh bags were used to quantify the production of external mycelium of ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi in the field.• Colonization of the mesh bags was followed by visual estimation of the amount of mycelium, and by measuring fungal biomarkers (the phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) 18 : 2 ω 6,9 and ergosterol). Mesh bags were placed inside and outside plots that were root isolated in order to estimate the amount of saprotrophic mycelium in relation to EM mycelium. The majority of mycelium in the mesh bags were EM, and this was confirmed by analysis of the δ 13 C value in mycelia.• Fungal colonization of mesh bags peaked during autumn. The total amount of EM mycelium produced in the mesh bags during a year was calculated to be between 125 and 200 kg ha − 1 . The total amount of EM mycelium (including EM mantles) in the humus was estimated to be 700 -900 kg ha − 1 .• The biomass of EM mycelium in the soil was in the same range as the biomass of fine roots and peaks of mycelial growth coincided with periods of maximum growth of fine-roots.

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Intensive harvesting of forest residues for energy production may lead to the depletion of organic matter and mineral nutrients in the forest floor. In order to restore nutrient content wood ash has been suggested as a fertiliser. Ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi are involved in the nutrient uptake of forest trees and this study investigates the influence of intensive harvesting and wood ash fertilisation on the external EM mycelium in forest soil. Nylon mesh bags filled with sand were buried in September 1997 in field plots which had or had not been intensively harvested. The effect of wood ash on the production of external EM mycelium was studied in mesh bags amended with wood ash. Mesh bags were retrieved in May and October 1998. The relative amount of fungal mycelia in the mesh bags was estimated with phospholipid fatty acid analysis. The fungi colonising the mesh bags were mainly ( s 90%) ectomycorrhizal. Fungal biomass in the mesh bags was low in the spring but high in the autumn. No significant effect on EM fungal biomass was observed in the mesh bags collected from intensively harvested plots compared with those from control plots, but wood ash amendment resulted in 2.4 times more EM fungal biomass (P 6 0.05). The effect of external EM mycelium on the dissolution of wood ash was studied in mesh bags filled with wood ash, using mesh bags buried in soil isolated from roots as EM-free controls. The external EM mycelium had no effect on the dissolution rate of the wood ash. 80% of the potassium was lost from the wood ash within a month, whereas no phosphorus was lost during the experimental period (up to 13 months). ß

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Intensive harvesting of forest residues for energy production may lead to the depletion of organic matter and mineral nutrients in the forest floor. In order to restore nutrient content wood ash has been suggested as a fertiliser. Ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi are involved in the nutrient uptake of forest trees and this study investigates the influence of intensive harvesting and wood ash fertilisation on the external EM mycelium in forest soil. Nylon mesh bags filled with sand were buried in September 1997 in field plots which had or had not been intensively harvested. The effect of wood ash on the production of external EM mycelium was studied in mesh bags amended with wood ash. Mesh bags were retrieved in May and October 1998. The relative amount of fungal mycelia in the mesh bags was estimated with phospholipid fatty acid analysis. The fungi colonising the mesh bags were mainly (>90%) ectomycorrhizal. Fungal biomass in the mesh bags was low in the spring but high in the autumn. No significant effect on EM fungal biomass was observed in the mesh bags collected from intensively harvested plots compared with those from control plots, but wood ash amendment resulted in 2.4 times more EM fungal biomass (P<0.05). The effect of external EM mycelium on the dissolution of wood ash was studied in mesh bags filled with wood ash, using mesh bags buried in soil isolated from roots as EM-free controls. The external EM mycelium had no effect on the dissolution rate of the wood ash. 80% of the potassium was lost from the wood ash within a month, whereas no phosphorus was lost during the experimental period (up to 13 months).

Piloderma sp., a wood ash-colonizing ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungus, was grown symbiotically with Norway spruce in microcosms which contained granules of hardened wood ash. Mycelium close to the granules was sampled 3 times over a period of 11 weeks and the elemental content was investigated with particle induced X-ray emission. Mycelium from microcosms without wood ash was used as controls. The contents of P and K were similar in mycelium growing close to wood ash granules to those in control mycelium, while the Ca content increased from 23+/-21 mg g(-1) in controls to 63+/-8 mg g(-1) in mycelium growing close to wood ash granules. The Ca content was also increased in other parts of the mycelium more distant from the wood ash. Piloderma sp. may have a role in the short-term storage of Ca released from wood ash, rather than in releasing and storing P.