Mycorrhiza of plants in different vegetation types in tropical ecosystems of Xishuangbanna, southwest China

Abstract

We examined plants growing in four tropical vegetation types (primary forest, secondary forest, limestone forest and a slash and burn field) in Xishuangbanna, southwest China for mycorrhizal associations. Of the 103 plant species examined (belonging to 47 families), 81 had arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) associations, while three species possessed orchid mycorrhiza. AM colonization levels ranged between 6% and 91% and spore numbers ranged between 1.36 spores and 25.71 spores per 10 g soil. Mean AM colonization level was higher in primary and secondary forest species than in plant species from limestone forests and a slash and burn field. In contrast, mean AM fungal spore numbers of the primary and limestone forest were lower than in the secondary forest or the slash and burn field. AM fungal spores belonging to Glomus and Acaulospora were the most frequent in soils of Xishuangbanna. AM fungal colonization and spore numbers were significantly correlated to each other and were significantly influenced by vegetation type.

Twenty years of research on community composition and species distribution of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in China: a review

“…The AM status of Cyperaceae was found to vary in different habitats of China. Muthukumar et al (2003) found no mycorrhizal structures in three sedge species in the Yunnan province. In contrast, most of 22 ecotypes examined in nine sedge species from Tibetan grasslands were mycorrhizal (Gai et al 2005).…”

“…Some 120 agricultural plant species, including grain, oil, and economic crops and horticultural and Chinese medicinal plants, have been found to form associations with AMF (Table 1). In addition, wild plants inhabiting a range of environments, such as heathland, mountain areas, grasslands, woodlands, and tropical forests, were also surveyed (Gong et al 1997;Gai et al 2000a;Zhao 2000;Chen et al 2001;Zhao et al 2001bZhao et al , 2003Wang and Liu 2002;Muthukumar et al 2003;Bao and Yan 2004;Ding et al 2004). Mycorrhizal incidence among wild herbaceous plants is consistently high, with over 90% of the species examined (about 300) exhibiting AMF colonization, and AM associations also occur in trees and shrubs of certain climatic zones.…”

“…The incidence of AM tends to be higher in subtropical and tropical tree species compared with those in temperate zones. A survey in the subtropical Yunnan province showed that about 80% of tree species form AM associations (Muthukumar et al 2003). Even the Dipterocarpaceae, typically considered to be ectomycorrhizal (Smith and Read 1997), exhibit AMF colonization in China (Shi et al 2003a,b).…”

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with the Meliaceae on Hainan island, China

“…AM associations are widespread, occurring in the roots of most angiosperms and pteridophytes, along with some gymnosperms and the gametophytes of some lower plants such as mosses and lycopods (Smith and Read 1997). Recent studies have indicated that AM fungi are common and ecologically important in tropical ecosystems, and that cooccurring plant species vary considerably in their germination, growth, and flowering responses to mycorrhizal colonization along a continuum from highly responsive obligately mycotrophic species to facultatively mycotrophic and nonresponsive species (Johnson et al 1997;Muthukumar et al 2003). Tropical rain forests display high plant species diversity and complex community structure (Read 1994).…”

“…In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the arbuscular mycorrhizae of tropical rain forest plants (Guadarrama and Alvarez-Sanchez 1999;Muthukumar et al 2003;Tawaraya et al 2003;Zhao 2000;Zhao et al 2001). However, according to Brundrett et al (1995) and Wubeta et al (2003), apart from a few fragmented reports, there have been no investigations reported on arbuscular mycorrhizae of the family Meliaceae.…”