Record ID No. |
1139 |
Author(s) |
Gebbing,T., Lux-Endrich,A., Grimoldi,A , 2004 |
Affiliation |
Institute Agronomy and Crop Science, University of Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany. |
Title |
Responses of perennial ryegrass seedlings to mycorrhiza development and leaf removal - leaf morphology and carbohydrate contents |
Source. Vol.(no):Page |
Land-use-systems-in-grassland-dominated-regions-Proceedings-of-the-20th-General-Meeting-of-the-European-Grassland-Federation,-Luzern,-Switzerland,-21-24-June-2004.805-807p. |
Categories |
Mycorrhiza General |
Subjects |
Soil plant relations |
Sub-subjects |
Photosynthesis |
Host |
Plants |
Organism |
Glomus mosseae, Acaulospora longula |
Country |
Germany, Europe |
Abstracts |
In grassland the symbiotic association between fungi and plant roots (mycorrhiza) is a widespread phenomenon. The mycorrhiza supports plant growth in return for photosynthetic C from the host plant. Plants in grassland are subject to periodic removal of leaf tissue by cutting or herbivores, which may strongly decrease C availability for plant growth. How the additional C requirement by the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) Glomus mosseae and Acaulospora longula affect plant growth of repeatedly defoliated plants was studied in potted ryegrass seedlings. Development of mycorrhiza did not affect total plant dry mass, but induced significant changes in leaf morphology of seedlings. The presence of mycorrhiza resulted in a higher specific leaf area and an increased leaf area ratio. Fructan contents in plants were significantly decreased by mycorrhiza, indicating that C requirement by fungi was appreciable. The morphological changes resulted in an increase in the light intercepting area per g of photosynthate, which would increase the C gain of seedlings and thus counterbalance part of the fungal C requirements. |