Ectomycorrhiza communities of red oak (Quercus rubra L.) of different age in the Lusatian lignite mining district, East Germany

Abstract

Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) communities were assessed on a 720 m(2) plot along a chronosequence of red oak (Quercus rubra) stands on a forest reclamation site with disturbed soil in the lignite mining area of Lower Lusatia (Brandenburg, Germany). Adjacent to the mining area, a red oak reference stand with undisturbed soil was investigated reflecting mycorrhiza diversity of the intact landscape. Aboveground, sporocarp surveys were carried out during the fruiting season in a 2-week interval in the years 2002 and 2003. Belowground, ECM morphotypes were identified by comparing sequences of the internal transcribed spacer regions from nuclear rDNA with sequences from the GenBank database. Fifteen ECM fungal species were identified as sporocarps and 61 belowground as determined by morphological/anatomical and molecular analysis of their ectomycorrhizas. The number of ECM morphotypes increased with stand age along the chronosequence. However, the number of morphotypes was lower in stands with disturbed soil than with undisturbed soil. All stands showed site-specific ECM communities with low similarity between the chronosequence stands. The dominant ECM species in nearly all stands was Cenococcum geophilum, which reached an abundance approaching 80% in the 21-year-old chronosequence stand. Colonization rate of red oak was high (>95%) at all stands besides the youngest chronosequence stand where colonization rate was only 15%. This supports our idea that artificial inoculation with site-adapted mycorrhizal fungi would enhance colonization rate of red oak and thus plant growth and survival in the first years after outplanting.

Belowground ectomycorrhizal communities in three Norway spruce stands with different degrees of decline in the Czech Republic

“…However, a dominance of only one species with more than 60%, as found in the Mumlavska hora plot, has seldom been reported and might indicate stressed environments. For example, up to 80% of roots were colonized by C. geophilum along a chronosequence of red oak stands on a forest reclamation site with disturbed soil in a lignite mining area (Gebhardt et al 2007). In a white spruce stand with high N deposition close to a fertilizer facility, Lactarius theiogalus dominated with a proportion of 69% (Lilleskov et al 2002).…”

Mycorrhization of Fagaceae Forests Within Mediterranean Ecosystems

“…In addition, the use of NGS DNA sequencing methods on Fagus sylvatica forest soils revealed that the most abundant fungal genera were Russula, Boletus, but also C. geophilum (Coince et al 2013). Moreover, C. geophilum was the main ECM fungus reported in root tip assessment in Q. rubra forests, although its abundance has oscillated significantly with tree age (Gebhardt et al 2007).…”

Comparison of root-associated communities of native and non-native ectomycorrhizal hosts in an urban landscape

“…A common garden study evaluating pairs of native and non-native con-generics (species of Pinus and Quercus) found that, while the native Quercus hosted a more diverse EcM community than the non-native one, the opposite was true for the two Pinus taxa compared (Trocha et al 2012). Other studies focusing on non-native species have reported that introduced or invasive non-natives expediently recruit native EcM symbionts Gebhardt et al 2007;Tedersoo et al 2007;Kohout et al 2011;Bahram et al 2013), although the host establishment may be facilitated by co-introduction with compatible root symbionts (Tedersoo et al 2007;Vellinga et al 2009;Dickie et al 2010). …”