Do arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi play a role in the ability of rare plant species to colonize abandoned fields?

0510128 - BÚ 2020 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Lepinay, Clémentine - Dostálek, Tomáš - Pánková, Hana - Svobodová, M. - Rydlová, Jana - Vazačová, Kristýna - Münzbergová, Zuzana
Do arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi play a role in the ability of rare plant species to colonize abandoned fields?
Fungal Ecology. Roč. 40, AUG SI (2019), s. 118-126. ISSN 1754-5048. E-ISSN 1878-0083
Institutional support: RVO:67985939
Keywords : arbuscular myccorhizal fungi * abandoned fields * dry grasslands
OECD category: Plant sciences, botany
Impact factor: 2.656, year: 2019
Method of publishing: Limited access

While some plant species colonize abandoned agricultural fields and dry grasslands with similar frequency (generalists), others are absent or underrepresented in abandoned fields (specialists). We tested if inoculation with dry grassland or abandoned field soil could improve specialist performance in an abandoned field and compared the effects of inoculation in the stage of sown seeds and transplanted seedlings. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi from abandoned field had higher root colonization potential. This could explain the higher performance of the sown specialists inoculated with the abandoned field inoculum compared to those inoculated with dry grassland inoculum. This difference disappeared when specialists were transplanted instead of sown. The results do not provide any support for higher performance of specialists inoculated with dry grassland inoculum. Transplantation, however, seems to be an efficient way to introduce specialists into the abandoned fields.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0302053