Common mycorrhizal networks improve survival and mediate facilitative plant interactions among Andropogon gerardii seedlings under drought stress.

ABSTRACT: Under drought conditions, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi may improve plant performance by facilitating the movement of water through extensive hyphal networks. When these networks interconnect neighboring plants in common mycorrhizal networks (CMNs), CMNs are likely to partition water among many individuals. The consequences of CMN-mediated water movement for plant interactions, however, are largely unknown. We set out to examine CMN-mediated interactions among Andropogon gerardii seedlings in a target-plant pot experiment, with watering (watered or long-term drought) and CMN status (intact or severed) as treatments. Intact CMNs improved the survival of seedlings under drought stress and mediated positive, facilitative plant interactions in both watering treatments. Watering increased m

SUBMITTER: Russell M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11790713 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature