Susceptibility of a Northern Hardwood Forest to Exotic Earthworm Invasion

Abstract:  Numerous exotic earthworm species are colonizing northern hardwood forests of North America, where no native earthworms exist. Upon invasion, earthworms have been shown to alter the surface soil environment and plant populations and communities. We sought to identify land-use factors in the Ottawa National Forest (ONF), Michigan (U.S.A.), that contribute to earthworm invasion in forest dominated by sugar maple ( Acer saccharum Marsh.) so that the susceptibility to additional colonization could be evaluated. We sampled earthworm communities in Sylvania Wilderness Area, a unique old-growth hardwood forest, and nonwilderness sites influenced by recreational fishing, recent timber harvesting, or roads. All the nonwilderness sites contained one to five species of exotic earthworms. In contrast, only 50% of wilderness sites contained exotic earthworms, all of a single species. Nonwilderness sites also had thinner litter and duff layers, higher soil C and N content, and higher nitrogen mineralization potentials than Sylvania sites. Two central differences between Sylvania and nonwilderness sites were that all nonwilderness sites were in close contact with roads and had a history of timber harvest, whereas these factors were not present in Sylvania Wilderness Area. Using average rates of colonization, we constructed two geographic information system models to estimate the percentage of sugar maple on the ONF falling within a theoretical 100-year invasion distance of roads and of second-growth sugar maple as relative indices of susceptibility to invasion. Both models indicated high susceptibility to invasion, with 91.7% and 98.9% of sugar maple habitat falling within a theoretical 100-year invasion distance of roads or historical harvests, respectively.     

Atmospheric deposition may affect northern hardwood forest composition by altering soil nutrient supply.

In the northeastern United States, the input of reactive nitrogen (N) via atmospheric deposition has increased rapidly since the onset of the industrial revolution. During the same period of time, acid precipitation and forest harvest have removed substantial quantities of base cations from soil. Because of the dominance of base-poor soils and the low rates of atmospheric base cation deposition, soils throughout the northeastern United States may be increasingly rich in N but poor in calcium (Ca). We studied the consequences of a change in soil N and Ca availability on forest composition by transplanting seedlings of four tree species into replicate plots in the understory and in canopy gaps amended with N and Ca in factorial combination. In this paper, we report on the growth and survivorship of seedlings over a four-year period. Relative to control plots, fertilization with N increased red maple growth by an average of 39% whereas fertilization with Ca decreased survivorship in the understory by 41%. In sugar maple, fertilization with Ca increased growth by 232% and 46% in the forest understory and in canopy gaps, respectively, and significantly increased high light survivorship. Fertilization with N decreased white pine survivorship by 69% in the understory whereas high Ca availability significantly increased survivorship. Fertilization with N or Ca alone reduced red oak growth but had no effect on survivorship. The results of this study suggest that historical losses of soil Ca and the continuing effects of atmospheric-N deposition on N availability are likely to alter the composition of northeastern North American forests because of the positive effects of N enrichment on the growth of red maple and the negative effects of Ca loss on the growth and survivorship of sugar maple and white pine.     

Effects of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi on the seedling growth of three Pistacia species

The experiment was undertaken to test the efficiency of inoculation of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi on the seedling growth of three Pistacia species used as rootstocks. The stratified Pistacia seeds were inoculated with VAM fungi. The highest rate of inoculated roots was 96.7% in P. khinjuck seedlings with G. clarum and G. etunicatum, 83.3% in P. vera seedlings with G. caledonium and 73.3% in P. terebinthus seedlings with G. caledonium. Mycorrhizal inoculations improved seedling height only in P. terebinthus. Certain mycorrhizal inoculations increased the leaf N, but not P and K contents. Seedlings inoculated with G. caledonium had higher reducing sugar contents. It was concluded that pre-inoculated Pistacia seedlings could have a better growth in the harsh field conditions.     

污泥堆肥利用中AM对稗草生长及Cu、Pb吸收的影响

在滨海盐渍土中分别混加质量分数为0%、20%、40%和60%的污泥堆肥,作为盆栽基质,研究摩西球囊霉（Glomusmosseae）和根内球囊霉（Glomus intraradices）2种AM真菌对稗草（Echinochloa crusgalli）生长及其吸收Cu、Pb的影响,分别以不接种AM真菌的处理为各自的对照。结果显示：添加污泥堆肥处理中稗草接种苗菌根侵染率均显著高于纯盐泽土处理。同时,随着盐渍土中污泥堆肥含量增加稗草生物量上升,其中在含有40%和60%污泥堆肥处理中接种AM真菌稗草的地上及地下部生物量显著高于未接种苗。接种AM真菌显著提高了稗草Cu、Pb富集总量;接种AM真菌显著提高了稗草地下部Cu富集量,却降低了地下部Pb累积量,提高了Pb向地上部的转运,增加了地上部Pb累积量。这些结果表明污泥堆肥中接种AM真菌可以促进稗草的生长和提高对重金属Cu、Pb的富集能力。     

Distinct mycorrhizal communities on new and established hosts in a transitional tropical plant community

The extent to which interspecific plants share mycorrhizal fungal communities depends on the specificity of the symbiosis. For tropical forest tree seedlings, colonization by mycorrhizal fungi associated with established vegetation could have important consequences for survival and growth. I used a novel molecular technique to assess the potential for sharing of mycorrhizas in forest and pasture in southern Costa Rica, by identifying arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in roots of the forest canopy tree species Terminalia amazonia, pasture grasses Urochloa ruziziensis and U. decumbens, and seedlings of T. amazonia planted into experimental reforestation plots. I tested the hypotheses that experimental seedlings were colonized either by the AM fungal community of the forest T. amazonia (suggesting host specificity) or of Urochloa (suggesting absence of specificity/importance of local environment). After two years, pasture-grown T. amazonia seedlings were colonized by neither community, but rather by a species of Glomus that was rarely observed on the other plants. These results suggest that conspecific seedlings planted into existing vegetation generate a distinct mycorrhizal community that may influence competitive interactions and the relative costs and benefits of the AM fungal symbiosis at early stages in the life cycle of tropical trees.     

Effects of Earthworm Invasion on Plant Species Richness in Northern Hardwood Forests

Abstract:  The invasion of non-native earthworms ( Lumbricus spp.) into a small number of intensively studied stands of northern hardwood forest has been linked to declines in plant diversity and the local extirpation of one threatened species. It is unknown, however, whether these changes have occurred across larger regions of hardwood forests, which plant species are most vulnerable, or with which earthworm species such changes are associated most closely. To address these issues we conducted a regional survey in the Chippewa and Chequamegon national forests in Minnesota and Wisconsin (U.S.A.), respectively. We sampled earthworms, soils, and vegetation, examined deer browse in 20 mature, sugar-maple-dominated forest stands in each national forest, and analyzed the relationship between invasive earthworms and vascular plant species richness and composition. Invasion by Lumbricus was a strong indicator of reduced plant richness in both national forests. The mass of Lumbricus juveniles was significantly and negatively related to plant-species richness in both forests. In addition, Lumbricus was a significant factor affecting plant richness in a full model that included multiple variables. In the Chequamegon National Forest earthworm mass was associated with higher sedge cover and lower cover of sugar maple seedlings and several forb species. The trends were similar but not as pronounced in Chippewa, perhaps due to lower deer densities and different earthworm species composition. Our results provide regional evidence that invasion by Lumbricus species may be an important mechanism in reduced plant-species richness and changes in plant communities in mature forests dominated by sugar maples.     

Studies on mycorrhizal inoculation on dry matter yield and root colonization of some medicinal plants grown in stress and forest soils

Five medicinal plants viz. Abelmoschatus moschatus Linn., Clitoria tematea L., Plumbagozeylanica L., Psorolea corylifolia L. and Withania sominifera L. were grown in a polypot experiment in five soils representing coal mine soil, coppermine soil, fly ash, skeletal soil and forest soil with and without mycorrhizal inoculations in a completely randomized block design. Dry matter yield and mycorrhizal root colonization of plants varied both in uninoculated and inoculated conditions. The forest soil rendered highest dry matter due to higher yield of A. moschatus, P. zeylanica and P corylifolia while fly ash showed lowest dry matter without any inoculants. P. cematea were best in coalmine soil and W. sominifera in copper mine soil without mycorrhizal inoculation. The mycorrhiza was found to enhance the dry matter yield. This contributed minimum 0.19% to maximum up to 422.0% in different soils as compared to uninoculated plants. The mycorrhizal dependency was noticed maximum in plants grown in fly ash followed by coal mine soil, copper mine soil, skeletal soil and forest soil. The mycorrhizal response was increased maximum in W. sominifera due to survival in fly ash after inoculation followed by P corylifolia and P cematea. Percent root colonization in inoculated plant was increased minimum of 1.10 fold to maximum of 12.0 folds in comparison to un-inoculated plants . The native mycorrhiza fungi were also observed to colonize 4.0 to 32.0% roots in plants understudy. This study suggests that mycorrhizal inoculation increased the dry matter yield of medicinal plants in all soils under study. It also helps in survival of W. sominifera in fly ash.     

Dynamics of nitrogen and dissolved organic carbon at the Hubbard brook experimental forest

The factors controlling spatial and temporal patterns in soil solution and streamwater chemistry are highly uncertain in northern hardwood forest ecosystems in the northeastern United States, where concentrations of reactive nitrogen (Nr) in streams have surprisingly declined over recent decades in the face of persistent high rates of atmospheric Nr deposition and aging forests. Reactive nitrogen includes inorganic species (e.g., ammonium [NH4+], nitrate [NO3-]) and some organic forms (e.g., amino acids) available to support the growth of plants and microbes. The objective of this study was to examine controls on the spatial and temporal patterns in the concentrations and fluxes of nitrogen (N) species and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in a 12-year record of soil solutions and streamwater along an elevational gradient (540-800 m) of a forested watershed at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF) in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, USA. Dissolved organic N and DOC concentrations were elevated in the high-elevation spruce-fir-white birch (SFB) zone of the watershed, while NO3- was the dominant N species in the lower elevation hardwood portion of the watershed. Within the soil profile, N retention was centered in the mineral horizon, and significant amounts of N were retained between the lower mineral soil and the stream, supporting the idea that near- and in-stream processes are significant sinks for N at the HBEF. Temporal analysis suggested that hydrologic flow paths can override both abiotic and biotic retention mechanisms (i.e., during the non-growing season when most hydrologic export occurs, or during years with high rainfall), there appears to be direct flushing of N from the organic horizons into the stream via horizontal flow. Significant correlations between soil NO3- concentrations, nitrification rates and streamwater NO3- exports show the importance of biological production as a regulator of inorganic N export. The lack of internal production response (e.g., mineralization, nitrification) to a severe ice storm in 1998 reinforces the idea that plant uptake is the dominant regulator of export response to disturbance.     

Indirect Effects of Pandemic Deer Overabundance Inferred from Caterpillar‐Host Relations

Externally feeding phytophagous insect larvae (i.e., caterpillars, here, larval Lepidoptera and sawflies, Hymenoptera: Symphyta) are important canopy herbivores and prey resources in temperate deciduous forests. However, composition of forest trees has changed dramatically in the eastern United States since 1900. In particular, browsing by high densities of white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) has resulted in forests dominated by browse‐tolerant species, such as black cherry (Prunus serotina), and greatly reduced relative abundance of other tree species, notably pin cherry (Prunus pensylvanica) and birches (Betula spp.). To quantify effects of these changes on caterpillars, we sampled caterpillars from 960 branch tips of the 8 tree species that comprise 95% of trees in Allegheny hardwood forests: red maple (Acer rubrum), striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), sweet birch (Betula lenta), yellow birch (Betula allegheniensis), American beech (Fagus grandifolia), black cherry, and pin cherry. We collected 547 caterpillar specimens that belonged to 66 Lepidoptera and 10 Hymenoptera species. Caterpillar density, species richness, and community composition differed significantly among tree species sampled. Pin cherry, nearly eliminated at high deer density, had the highest density and diversity of caterpillars. Pin cherry shared a common caterpillar community with black cherry, which was distinct from those of other tree hosts. As high deer density continues to replace diverse forests of cherries, maples, birches, and beech with monodominant stands of black cherry, up to 66% of caterpillar species may be eliminated. Hence, deer‐induced changes in forest vegetation are likely to ricochet back up forest food webs and therefore negatively affect species that depend on caterpillars and moths for food and pollination. Efectos Indirectos de la Sobreabundancia de Venados Pandémicos Inferida de Relaciones Orugas‐Huéspedes     

AM真菌对烟草砷吸收及根际pH的影响

采用矿区3种砷(As)含量土壤水提液的琼脂培养基变色试验,研究接种土著(Glomus spp.,Acaulospora spp.)与外源(Glomus caledonium)AM真菌对煳草(Nicotiana tabacum L.)As吸收以及根际pH的影响.结果表明,除无As水平下的烟草对照苗根际pH持续升高外,其它处理的烟草化苗根际pH都有先升高后降低的规律,而且菌根化苗根际pH的降低速度快于对照苗.烟草地上部分As含量在所有处理中没有表现出显著的差异.在无As水平下,烟草地下部分As含量依次为外源菌根化苗>土著菌根化苗>对照苗.在低As、中As、高As水平下,土著菌根化苗的地下部分As含量显著高于外源菌根化苗以及对照苗.可见,接种AM真菌可以降低烟草根际pH,从而影响烟草的As吸收,这也显示了AM真菌应用于烟草安全的可能性.此外,本研究表明土著AM真菌与外源AM真菌对培养基质中的同一As水平有着不同的响应.     

油菜素内酯诱导黄瓜幼苗抗灰霉病研究

采用根际注射结合叶面喷施的方法,研究了油菜素内酯(Brassinolide,BR)对黄瓜灰霉病的诱抗作用及其生理机制.结果表明,BR降低了黄瓜幼苗的病情指数,最高幅度达28.4%,提高了苯丙氨酸解氨酶(PAL)、过氧化物酶(POD)和多酚氧化酶(PPO)活性,增加了木质素和类黄酮含量,促进了灰霉病菌侵染下黄瓜幼苗的生长发育,壮苗指数最高增加了23.4%.说明BR能诱导黄瓜幼苗对灰霉病的抗性,且最佳处理浓度为0.05mg/L.图3表1参28     

Physiological benefits of feeding in the spring by Lymantria dispar caterpillars on red oak and sugar maple leaves: nutrition versus oxidative stress

The rapid growth of insects that feed on tree leaves in the spring is believed to be due to high nutritional quality. This study tested the hypothesis that both high nutritional quality and low levels of oxidative stress (i.e., toxicological effects) benefit caterpillars that feed in the spring. Fourth-instar larvae of Lymantria dispar (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) were used to bioassay the leaves of two contrasting host plants in the spring and summer: red oak (Quercus rubra), a high-quality host, and sugar maple (Acer saccharum), a low-quality host. On spring foliage, the combined effects of rapid consumption rate, efficient nutrient assimilation, and high nutritional quality allowed larvae to grow rapidly and attain larger body mass. Ellagitannins, a major source of oxidative stress in the midgut, were at higher concentrations in the spring than in the summer in maple leaves, but were at negligible levels throughout the growing season in oak. Thus, the impact of phenolic defenses (measured as semiquinone free radicals and oxidized glutathione in the midgut) was not decreased in spring-feeding larvae. Instead, oxidative stress in larvae on maple remained at elevated levels in the spring and summer. By contrast, larvae that fed on oak had consistently low levels of oxidative stress. We conclude that oak and maple were better host plants in the spring because of their higher nutritional quality, and not because of a lower effectiveness of their chemical defenses. This work emphasizes the need to measure not only foliar nutritional and phenolic chemistry but also specific physiological responses in the herbivore, such as oxidative stress. These physiological mechanisms add to our understanding of why spring-feeding life-history strategies have evolved in some insect herbivores.     

Patterns of litter disappearance in a northern hardwood forest invaded by exotic earthworms.

A field study was conducted to evaluate the effects of exotic earthworm invasions on the rates of leaf litter disappearance in a northern hardwood forest in southcentral New York, USA. Specifically, we assessed whether differences in litter quality and the species composition of exotic earthworm communities affected leaf litter disappearance rates. Two forest sites with contrasting communities of exotic earthworms were selected, and disappearance rates of sugar maple and red oak litter were estimated in litter boxes in adjacent earthworm-free, transition, and earthworm-invaded plots within each site. After 540 days in the field, 1.7-3 times more litter remained in the reference plots than in the earthworm-invaded plots. In the earthworm-invaded plots, rates of disappearance of sugar maple litter were higher than for oak litter during the first year, but by the end of the experiment, the amount of sugar maple and oak litter remaining in the earthworm-invaded plots was identical within each site. The composition of the earthworm communities significantly affected the patterns of litter disappearance. In the site dominated by the anecic earthworm Lumbricus terrestris and the endogeic Aporrectodea tuberculata, the percentage of litter remaining after 540 days (approximately 17%) was significantly less than at the site dominated by L. rubellus and Octolasion tyrtaeum (approximately 27%). This difference may be attributed to the differences in feeding behavior of the two litter-feeding species: L. terrestris buries entire leaves in vertical burrows, whereas L. rubellus usually feeds on litter at the soil surface, leaving behind leaf petioles and veins. Our results showed that earthworms not only accelerate litter disappearance rates, but also may reduce the differences in decomposition rates that result from different litter qualities at later stages of decay. Similarly, our results indicate that earthworm effects on decomposition vary with earthworm community composition. Furthermore, because earthworm invasion can involve a predictable shift in community structure along invasion fronts or through time, the community dynamics of invasion are important in predicting the spatial and temporal effects of earthworm invasion on litter decomposition, especially at later stages of decay.     

No evidence that chronic nitrogen additions increase photosynthesis in mature sugar maple forests

Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition can increase forest growth. Because N deposition commonly increases foliar N concentrations, it is thought that this increase in forest growth is a consequence of enhanced leaf-level photosynthesis. However, tests of this mechanism have been infrequent, and increases in photosynthesis have not been consistently observed in mature forests subject to chronic N deposition. In four mature northern hardwood forests in the north-central United States, chronic N additions (30 kg N ha(-1) yr(-1) as NaNO3 for 14 years) have increased aboveground growth but have not affected canopy leaf biomass or leaf area index. In order to understand the mechanism behind the increases in growth, we hypothesized that the NO3(-) additions increased foliar N concentrations and leaf-level photosynthesis in the dominant species in these forests (sugar maple, Acer saccharum). The NO3(-) additions significantly increased foliar N. However, there was no significant difference between the ambient and +NO3(-) treatments in two seasons (2006-2007) of instantaneous measurements of photosynthesis from either canopy towers or excised branches. In measurements on excised branches, photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency (micromol CO2 s(-1) g(-1) N) was significantly decreased (-13%) by NO3(-) additions. Furthermore, we found no consistent NO3(-) effect across all sites in either current foliage or leaf litter collected annually throughout the study (1993-2007) and analyzed for delta 13C and delta 18O, isotopes that can be used together to integrate changes in photosynthesis over time. We observed a small but significant NO3(-) effect on the average area and mass of individual leaves from the excised branches, but these differences varied by site and were countered by changes in leaf number. These photosynthesis and leaf area data together suggest that NO3(-) additions have not stimulated photosynthesis. There is no evidence that nutrient deficiencies have developed at these sites, so unlike other studies of photosynthesis in N-saturated forests, we cannot attribute the lack of a stimulation of photosynthesis to nutrient limitations. Rather than increases in C assimilation, the observed increases in aboveground growth at our study sites are more likely due to shifts in C allocation.     

长三角地区典型稻作农业小流域氮素平衡及其污染潜势

江苏省句容市陈武镇水库流域是以稻作为主的农业小流域,在长三角地区颇具典型性。于2007年5月至2008年4月在该流域进行定位观测与现场调查,通过估算氮素平衡来分析预测流域农田氮污染潜势。结果表明,研究时段内流域氮素输入量为1 589.1 t,输出量为1 168.4 t。化肥氮输入是农田氮素的最主要来源,占氮输入总量的67.2%;而作物收获是农田氮输出的主要方式,占氮输出总量的46.7%。水田和旱地氮平衡均处于盈余状态,盈亏率分别为20.5%和52.4%,氮素利用率分别为33.6%和34.9%,利用率较低。水田47.8%的氮素以气态形式损失,气态氮和储存在土壤中的氮素极易导致大气和水体污染。     

丛枝菌根真菌对柑橘组培苗生长和抗氧化酶的影响

在温室条件下以枳〔Poncirus trifoliata(L.)Raf.〕组培苗为试材,研究了接种Glomus versiforme和G.mosseae对其生长、碳水化合物和抗氧化酶的影响.结果表明,接种G.versiforme的组培苗和接种G.mosseae的组培苗分别在第二级侧根和第一级侧根中观察到最高的菌根侵染率、泡囊数、丛枝数和侵入点.两种丛枝菌根真菌都显著提高了茎粗、叶面积、叶片数、根系体积、地上部干重、地下部干重、叶绿素和类胡萝卜素含量.两种丛枝菌根真菌显著促进了叶片和根系可溶性糖以及总的非结构碳水化合物含量.丛枝菌根真菌也提高了叶片和根系中SOD、POD和CAT活性,但显著抑制了叶片和根系中可溶性蛋白含量.G.versiforme对柑橘组培苗生长和碳水化合物的促进效果较好;G.mosseae对组培苗抗氧化酶的促进效果较好.表4参26     

Modelling forest succession in two southeastern Canadian mixedwood ecosystem types using the ZELIG model

The gap model ZELIG was validated for red spruce–balsam fir–yellow birch and yellow birch–sugar maple–balsam fir forest types in southern Quebec, Canada. Long-term historical data originating from the Lake Edward Experimental Forest, La Mauricie National Park, were used. The effect of the variation in plot size, representing the space within which trees uptake site resources, was also examined. Several species were included in both forest types: red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.), balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.), yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britton), white birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.), red maple (Acer rubrum L.), sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.), American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.), eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr.) and northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis L.). The pattern of change in basal area growth varied among species, ranging from a steady increase to a more or less rapid decline. There was a good agreement between observations and predictions for yellow birch, red spruce, red maple, sugar maple, balsam fir and northern white cedar. Plot size had a significant impact on the dynamics of the different species. Depending on the species, the decline was accelerated, the amplitude of the fluctuations varied, or the maximum basal area reached changed. Predicted regeneration varied among species and the number of seedlings generally increased with increase in plot size. The pattern of development for most species was related to their life characteristics. The results highlighted the fact that there is a critical lack of knowledge and data on the dynamics of regeneration from the seedling to the sapling stages for the two forest types studied, which resulted in poor predictions for some species. As the life characteristics varied among species, the use of only one plot size for all species may not be realistic.     

Effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus and plant growth promoting rhizomicroorganisms (PGPR's) on medicinal plant Solanum viarum seedlings

A green house nursery study was conducted to assess the interaction between arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus, Glomus aggregatum and some plant growth promoting rhizomicrooganisms (PGPR's), Bacillus coagulans and Trichoderma harzianum, in soil and their consequent effect on growth, nutrition and content of secondary metabolities of Solanum viarum seedlings. Triple inoculation of G. aggregatum+B. coagulans+T. harzainum with Solanum viarum in a green house nursery study resulted in maximum plant biomass (plant height 105 cm and plant dry weight 12.17 g), P, Fe, Zn, Cu and Mn and secondary metabolities [total phenols (129.6 microg g(-1) f.wt.), orthodihydroxy phenols (90.6 microg g(-1) f.wt.), flavonoids (3.94 microg g(-1) f.wt.), alkaloids (5.05 microg g(-1) f.wt.), saponins (5.05 microg g(-1) f.wt.) and tannins (0.324 microg g(-1) f.wt.)] of S. viarum seedlings. The mycorrhizal root colonization and spore numbers in the root zone soil of the inoculated plants increased. The enzyme activity namely acid phosphatase (53.44 microg PNP g(-1) soil), alkaline phosphatase (40.95 microg PNP g(-1) soil) and dehydrogenase (475.5 microg PNP g(-1) soil) and total population of B. coagulans (12.5x10(4) g(-1)) and T. harzianum (12.4 x 10(4) g(-1)), in the root zone soil was found high in the triple inoculation with G. aggregatum+B. coagulans+T. harzianum that proved to be the best microbial consortium.     

Plant species differ in their ability to reduce allocation to non-beneficial arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Theory suggests that cheaters threaten the persistence of mutualisms, but that sanctions to prevent cheating can stabilize mutualisms. In the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis, reports of parasitism suggest that reductions in plant carbon allocation are not universally effective. I asked whether plant species differences in mycorrhizal responsiveness would affect both their susceptibility to parasitism and their reduction in allocation to non-beneficial arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in high-phosphorus soils. In a greenhouse experiment, I found that two C3 grasses, Bromus inermis and Elymus repens, effectively suppressed root colonization and AMF hyphal abundance. Increases in soil phosphorus did not reduce the degree to which AMF increased plant biomass. In contrast, two C4 grasses, Andropogon gerardii and Schizachyrium scoparium, more weakly reduced root colonization and failed to suppress AMF hyphal abundance. Consequently, they experienced strong declines in their response to AMF, and one species suffered parasitism. Thus, species differ in susceptibility to parasitism and their reduction in allocation to non-beneficial AMF. These differences may affect the distribution and abundance of plants and AMF, as well as the stability of the mutualism.     

Studies of VA-Mycorrhizal fungi associated with some weed plants in sugar mill effluent soils

This study is to isolate the effluent strain of VAM fungi from polluted soils of sugar mill effluents. Analysis showed that pH and EC was more but the organic matter is less when compared to non-polluted soils. Even though there was low P content that enhances the mycorrhizal infection, the percent of root colonization was less than 75% in polluted study site. The number of VAM propagules and its distribution were also greatly affected due to various factors. Nine different VAM species were isolated and identified from the polluted study site. Using Allium cepa L. as the host plant the efficiency of the native effluent tolerant strains of VAM fungi isolated from the polluted study site was determined. Highest growth rate, high dry weight of gram per plant and increased growth was observed in the order of Glomus intraradices followed by Gigaspora margarita and Glomus fasciculatum. Consequence of the study clearly showed that Glomus intraradices was the efficient strain in sugar mill effluent polluted areas.