Ectomycorrhiza resilience and recovery to extreme flood events in Tuber aestivum and Quercus robur.

ABSTRACT: Very little is known about the impact of flooding and ground saturation on ectomycorrhizal fungi (EcM) and increasing flood events are expected with predicted climate change. To explore this, seedlings inoculated with the EcM species Tuber aestivum were exposed to a range of flood durations. Oak seedlings inoculated with T. aestivum were submerged for between 7 and 65 days. After a minimum of 114-day recovery, seedling growth measurements were recorded, and root systems were destructively sampled to measure the number of existing mycorrhizae in different zones. Number of mycorrhizae did not display correlation with seedling growth measurements. Seven days of submersion resulted in a significant reduction in mycorrhizae numbers and numbers reduced most drastically in the upper zones. Increa

SUBMITTER: Thomas PW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8266694 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature