Record ID No. |
1971 |
Author(s) |
Kotanen P.M , 2007 |
Affiliation |
University of Toronto, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, 3359 Mississauga Rd N, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, CANADA |
Title |
Effects of fungal seed pathogens under conspecific and heterospecific trees in a temperate forest |
Source. Vol.(no):Page |
Canadian Journal of Botany.85(10):918-925p. |
Categories |
Arbuscular Mycorrhiza |
Subjects |
Biochemistry |
Sub-subjects |
Miscellaneous |
Organism |
n.a. |
Country |
CANADA, Central America |
Abstracts |
This study investigated the impacts of soil fungi on seeds of two eastern North
American temperate-zone trees: Acer saccharum Marsh. (sugar maple) and Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr
(eastern hemlock). Seeds of each species were buried at locations dominated by either
conspecifics or heterospecifics. Half were protected with fungicide, and the net consequences for
survival and germination were assessed. Net effects of fungicide usually were positive,
indicating that pathogens affected seeds more strongly than any potential mutualists. Losses of
A. Saccharum to fungi were modest, and almost identical in areas dominated by itself versus areas
dominated by T. Canadensis. In contrast, fungal impacts on T. Canadensis were strongly
habitat-dependent: losses to fungi were high in T. Canadensis-dominated sites, but not in A.
Saccharum-dominated sites. This result is consistent with an accumulation of host-specific
pathogens, either by a direct feedback between T. Canadensis and its fungal enemies, or
indirectly through modification of the soil environment. Even though these two trees share
similar habitats, responses to fungicide indicate that their seeds are affected very differently
by the soil environment. |