without B. pumicola differ with regard to density of associated plant species, and B. pumicola spore bank; (3) B. pumicola dispersion is clumped; and (4) B. pumicola spore dispersal is predominantly local.
Materials and MethodsPlant natural history. -Leaves of Botrychium pumicola emerge after spring snowmelt, with peak emergence mid-July to mid-August (Hopkins et al, 2001; Roe-Andersen, 2010). Leaves reach heights of 1-6 cm above the soil surface, with 7-10 cm of the frond below ground. The stem with leaf primordia at the apex remains underground. The single leaf that matures each year is divided into a sterile trophophore and fertile sporophore. Reproduction occurs through spores, gemmae and intragametophytic selfing (Camacho, 1996; Camacho and Liston, 2001). Spores require a period of darkness for germination (Whittier, 1973; Johnson-Groh, 2002). Photoinhibition of spore germination ensures below-ground germination where the likelihood of sufficient moisture and proximity to mycorrhizal symbionts improve chances for colonization (Whittier, 2006).Botrychium species form obligate s3mibioses with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, predominately Glomus spp. (Kovacs et al., 2007; Winther and Friedman, 2007). Sporophytes of other Botrychium species remain underground for several years, relying on mycorrhizal partners to obtain fixed carbon from neighboring plants through an AM fungal network (Johnson-Groh, 1998; Winther and Friedman, 2007).
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