The effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and root interaction on the competition between Trifolium repens and Lolium perenne.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the factors that alter competitive interactions and coexistence between plants is a key issue in ecological research. A pot experiment was conducted to test the effects of root interaction and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculation on the interspecies competition between Trifolium repens and Lolium perenne under different proportions of mixed sowing by the combination treatment of two levels of AMF inoculation (inoculation and non-inoculation) and two levels of root interaction (root interaction and non-root interaction). Overall, the aboveground and belowground biomass of T. repens and L. perenne were not altered by AMF inoculation across planting ratios, probably because the fertile soil reduced the positive effect of AMF on plant growth. Both inter- and intraspecie

SUBMITTER: Ren H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5741977 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature