Are ectomycorrhizal fungi alleviating or aggravating nitrogen limitation of tree growth in boreal forests?
(2013) In New Phytologist 198(1). p.214-221- Abstract
- Symbioses between plant roots and mycorrhizal fungi are thought to enhance plant uptake of nutrients through a favourable exchange for photosynthates. Ectomycorrhizal fungi are considered to play this vital role for trees in nitrogen (N)-limited boreal forests. We followed symbiotic carbon (C)N exchange in a large-scale boreal pine forest experiment by tracing 13CO2 absorbed through tree photosynthesis and 15N injected into a soil layer in which ectomycorrhizal fungi dominate the microbial community. We detected little 15N in tree canopies, but high levels in soil microbes and in mycorrhizal root tips, illustrating effective soil N immobilization, especially in late summer, when tree belowground C allocation was high. Additions of N... (More)
- Symbioses between plant roots and mycorrhizal fungi are thought to enhance plant uptake of nutrients through a favourable exchange for photosynthates. Ectomycorrhizal fungi are considered to play this vital role for trees in nitrogen (N)-limited boreal forests. We followed symbiotic carbon (C)N exchange in a large-scale boreal pine forest experiment by tracing 13CO2 absorbed through tree photosynthesis and 15N injected into a soil layer in which ectomycorrhizal fungi dominate the microbial community. We detected little 15N in tree canopies, but high levels in soil microbes and in mycorrhizal root tips, illustrating effective soil N immobilization, especially in late summer, when tree belowground C allocation was high. Additions of N fertilizer to the soil before labelling shifted the incorporation of 15N from soil microbes and root tips to tree foliage. These results were tested in a model for CN exchange between trees and mycorrhizal fungi, suggesting that ectomycorrhizal fungi transfer small fractions of absorbed N to trees under N-limited conditions, but larger fractions if more N is available. We suggest that greater allocation of C from trees to ectomycorrhizal fungi increases N retention in soil mycelium, driving boreal forests towards more severe N limitation at low N supply. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/4643869
- author
- Nasholm, Torgny ; Hogberg, Peter ; Franklin, Oskar ; Metcalfe, Dan LU ; Keel, Sonja G. ; Campbell, Catherine ; Hurry, Vaughan ; Linder, Sune and Hogberg, Mona N.
- publishing date
- 2013
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- field experiment, 13C-15N pulse labelling, modelling, mycorrhiza, nitrogen immobilization, nitrogen limitation, Scots pine (Pinus, sylvestris)
- in
- New Phytologist
- volume
- 198
- issue
- 1
- pages
- 214 - 221
- publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- external identifiers
-
- wos:000315440400022
- scopus:84874218091
- pmid:23356503
- ISSN
- 1469-8137
- DOI
- 10.1111/nph.12139
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- b8ea0a10-d96a-4f87-ac15-ffc72bb244b3 (old id 4643869)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 11:09:45
- date last changed
- 2022-04-20 17:28:16
@article{b8ea0a10-d96a-4f87-ac15-ffc72bb244b3,
abstract = {{Symbioses between plant roots and mycorrhizal fungi are thought to enhance plant uptake of nutrients through a favourable exchange for photosynthates. Ectomycorrhizal fungi are considered to play this vital role for trees in nitrogen (N)-limited boreal forests. We followed symbiotic carbon (C)N exchange in a large-scale boreal pine forest experiment by tracing 13CO2 absorbed through tree photosynthesis and 15N injected into a soil layer in which ectomycorrhizal fungi dominate the microbial community. We detected little 15N in tree canopies, but high levels in soil microbes and in mycorrhizal root tips, illustrating effective soil N immobilization, especially in late summer, when tree belowground C allocation was high. Additions of N fertilizer to the soil before labelling shifted the incorporation of 15N from soil microbes and root tips to tree foliage. These results were tested in a model for CN exchange between trees and mycorrhizal fungi, suggesting that ectomycorrhizal fungi transfer small fractions of absorbed N to trees under N-limited conditions, but larger fractions if more N is available. We suggest that greater allocation of C from trees to ectomycorrhizal fungi increases N retention in soil mycelium, driving boreal forests towards more severe N limitation at low N supply.}},
author = {{Nasholm, Torgny and Hogberg, Peter and Franklin, Oskar and Metcalfe, Dan and Keel, Sonja G. and Campbell, Catherine and Hurry, Vaughan and Linder, Sune and Hogberg, Mona N.}},
issn = {{1469-8137}},
keywords = {{field experiment; 13C-15N pulse labelling; modelling; mycorrhiza; nitrogen immobilization; nitrogen limitation; Scots pine (Pinus; sylvestris)}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1}},
pages = {{214--221}},
publisher = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
series = {{New Phytologist}},
title = {{Are ectomycorrhizal fungi alleviating or aggravating nitrogen limitation of tree growth in boreal forests?}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/nph.12139}},
doi = {{10.1111/nph.12139}},
volume = {{198}},
year = {{2013}},
}