Mycorrhizal status of forest trees grown in urban and rural environments in Poland

Abstract

Mycorrhizal status of mature forest trees (horse chestnut, Aesculus hippocastanum L.; white poplar, Populus alba L.; black poplar, P. nigra L.) was investigated in urban habitats under different intensity of anthropogenic pressures (restricted root zone, soil compaction, low air and soil humidity), compared to trees grown in rural environments that were used as reference biological material. Horse chestnut roots were colonized by arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, and the two poplar species (white poplar and black poplar) were dually colonized by AM and ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi, regardless of habitat, except P. nigra grown close to a trafficked street, which had only ECM associations. The AM colonization of horse chestnut roots was higher in May than October, regardless of habitat and showed a tendency to be lower in the roots of trees from urban environments, however, only mycorrhizal frequency differed significantly between the urban habitat and the reference plot. In roots of two poplar species the intensity of AM colonization was significantly lower in disturbed urban habitats than in the rural sites. ECM colonization of white poplar did not differ between the urban and rural environments, and in black poplar roots it was lower at the city sites than in the reference plot. Significantly lower levels of available magnesium and total carbon was recorded in soils at the urban sites compared to reference plots. The concentrations of the other macro-and microelements did not differ significantly. A tendency to reduced water content in two of three urban sites was also recorded. The results indicated that mycorrhizal fungi native of urban habitats are able to develop effective symbiosis with mature tree roots and they suggested that environmental factors, such as availability of water and nutrient and carbohydrates production and allocation, are the most important factor influencing the mycorrhizal colonization of urban trees.

Making partners in the city: impact of urban soil P enrichment on the partnership between an invasive herb and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in a tropical city

“…Most studies support our finding that plants growing in urban areas have lower AM colonization than plants in rural populations (see Egerton‐Warburton & Allen 2000; Wiseman & Wells 2005; Tyburska et al . 2013). Only one study found similar colonization rates between urban and rural environments in AM (Karliński et al .…”

“…Interestingly, while previous studies have found that plants in urban soils interact less with AM fungi (Tyburska et al . 2013), and that urban soils have lower spore richness, diversity, and density, than rural soils (Cousins et al . 2003), few studies have explored urban soil properties that affect the AM association (Egerton‐Warburton & Allen 2000; Wiseman & Wells 2005; Buil et al .…”

The ectomycorrhizal community of urban linden trees in Gdańsk, Poland

“…For example, Timonen and Kauppinen [ 22 ] reported that Tilia cordata trees growing in a nursery had different sets of ectomycorrhizal symbionts than trees grown along streets with traffic. However, the relationship between specific environmental conditions and the mycorrhizal status of trees is still not well known [ 23 ]. Taking into account the positive impact of the mycorrhizal relationship for trees performance we investigated the differences of ECM community of trees growing in the park (the favorable habitat conditions) and the trees growing along the streets.…”

Influence of drought and salt stress on the growth of young Populus nigra ‘Italica’ plants and associated mycorrhizal fungi and non-mycorrhizal fungal endophytes

“…Saline soils contain various dissolved salts, such as NaCl, Na 2 SO 4 , MgSO 4 , CaSO 4 , MgCl 2 , KCl, however the most common type of salt that accumulates in the soil however lower colonization of tree roots by ECM and AM fungi has been found in strongly disturbed urban habitats (i.e. Nielsen and Rasmussen 1999;Bainard et al 2011;Tyburska et al 2013). The symbiotic activity of native mycorrhizal fungi in disturbed urban sites can be supported by basic tillage practices, such as enrichment of the soil with organic matter.…”