Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in Atriplex argentina (Chenopodiaceae) from saline soils of Córdoba Province (Argentina).

COFRÉ, N.; BECERRA, A.; DOMINGUEZ, L.

Pucón-Chile.

Simposio; Fifth International Symposium ISMOM 2008 "Soil-Root-Microbe Interactions and the Impact on the Transformations and Fate of Nutrients and Pollutants in the Ecosystem"; 2008

Universidad de la Frontera.

Plant root and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) symbiosis is one of many plant strategies in order to grow under a variety of stress conditions. The distribution of certain AMF has been related to different soil conditions (pH, P level, salinity, disturbance, etc). AMF in saline soil may improve plant salinity tolerance and growth. Atriplex argentina (Chenopodiaceae), a common native shrub of arid and semiarid zones of Argentina, is valued as a soil stabilizer and as palatable and nutritious forage for many herbivores. The aim of the present work was to study the relationship between seasonal changes in AMF root colonization and AMF in saline soils of Salinas Grandes (Córdoba, Argentina). Soil samples were collected from San José de Las Salinas and Árbol Blanco, Córdoba Province, in autumn and summer (1999). The AM colonization and AM fungal spores were quantified and identified respectively. Arbuscules, intercellular vesicles and inter- and intra-cellular hyphae were observed in A. argentina roots. The percentage of colonized root length differed between seasons, being higher in summer, but did not differ between study sites. The AMF most frequently found in the rhizosphere were species of the Acaulospora and Glomus. The data presented here provide useful information for possible reclamation of degraded areas with A. argentina.