Influence of arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization on whole-plant respiration and thermal acclimation of tropical tree seedlings.

ABSTRACT: Symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are ubiquitous in tropical forests. AMF play a role in the forest carbon cycle because they can increase nutrient acquisition and biomass of host plants, but also incur a carbon cost to the plant. Through their interactions with their host plants they have the potential to affect how plants respond to environmental perturbation such as global warming. Our objective was to experimentally determine how plant respiration rates and responses to warmer environment are affected by AMF colonization in seedlings of five tropical tree species at the whole plant level. We evaluated the interaction between AMF colonization and temperature on plant respiration against four possible outcomes; acclimation does or does not occur regardless of AMF, or AMF can i

SUBMITTER: Fahey C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4739557 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature