Record ID No. |
679 |
Author(s) |
Wilson, GWT; Hartnett, DC*; Rice, CW. , 2006 |
Affiliation |
*Hartnett, DC, Kansas State Univ, Div Biol, Ackert Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506 |
Title |
Mycorrhizal-mediated phosphorus transfer between tallgrass prairie plants Sorghastrum nutans and Artemisia ludoviciana. |
Source. Vol.(no):Page |
Functional Ecology. 20(3):427-435. |
Categories |
Arbuscular Mycorrhiza |
Subjects |
Soil plant relations |
Sub-subjects |
Nutrition |
Host |
Tallgrass, Sorghastrum nutans, Artemisia ludoviciana |
Organism |
n.a. |
Country |
Manhattan, North America |
Abstracts |
A glasshouse P-32-labelling study examined arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM)-mediated transfer of phosphorus between individuals of two tallgrass prairie species, an obligately mycotrophic grass (Sorghastrum nutans Vitm.) and a facultatively mycotrophic forb (Artemisia ludoviciana Nutt.). 2. Regardless of which species served as donor, P-32 was transferred between both intra- and interspecific neighbours via AM mycelia. However, nutrient transfer via AM fungi was not uniform between neighbouring species. 3. Conservative estimates indicate that interplant transfer via AM fungi accounted for > 50% of the total P-32 acquisition by S. nutans, but accounted for only 20% of P-32 uptake into A. ludoviciana. 4. While this study did not show conclusively that a common mycelial network acted as a conduit for nutrient transfer, it clearly demonstrated that mycorrhizae facilitated transfer. 5. The results indicate that differential movement of plant resources via AM mycelium may be a mechanism whereby a dominant, highly mycotrophic grass extends competitive advantage over a less mycotrophic, subdominant forb species in grasslands. |