Shared Buddies: Ectomycorrhizal Fungal Communities in Seedlings of Two Important North American Native Forestry Species

FERNÁNDEZ NATALIA; KOVACS ZSUZSI; GEHRING CATHERINE

Manchester

Congreso; International Conference on Mycorrhizas (ICOM 12); 2024

Introduction/Aim: Wildfires have increased in scale and severity globally. They can result in contiguous patches of tree mortality, hindering seedling regeneration and ecosystem recovery. One of the reasons for this sluggish recovery is the severe reduction of belowground ectomycorrhizal fungi (EcMF). Resprouting trees may facilitate post-fire recovery by maintaining EcMF inoculum in the soil. Thus, resprouting plants and their mycorrhizas can influence seedling establishment and performance, either positively or negatively. The main aim of this study was to determine if seedlings of a resprouting species (Quercus gambelii) share EcMF with a non-resprouting species (Pinus ponderosa).Materials and Methods: To achieve this, both plant species were cultivated in pots with soil from a mix forest. After ten months, the abundance and diversity of EcMF in their roots were analyzed.Results: We observed that P. ponderosa showed higher colonization (98.9%) than Q. gambelii (79.6%). EcMF communities differed significantly between species. Only three out of the 11 identified EcMF species were common to both forestry species, including the most abundant ones: Peziza sp. 1 (~70%) y Tomentella sp. (15-20%). In Q. gambelii, the relative abundance of all the other EcMF was very low, while in P. ponderosa only Rhizopogon sp. (~12%) was nearly as abundant as Tomentella sp.Discussion: Despite their abundance in western US forests, this is the first time that the composition of EcMF communities were simultaneously described in P. ponderosa and Q. gambelii, which exhibit distinct post-wildfire behaviors.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that resprouting species may facilitate conifer establishment after severe wildfires by providing compatible EcMF inocula.