Elevated Atmospheric CO2 Affects Ectomycorrhizal Species Abundance and Increases Sporocarp Production under Field Conditions

Anthropogenic activities during the last century have increased levels of atmospheric CO2. Forest net primary productivity increases in response to elevated CO2, altering the quantity and quality of carbon supplied to the rhizosphere. Ectomycorrhizal fungi form obligate symbiotic associations with t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Forests 2015-04, Vol.6 (4), p.1256-1273
Main Authors: Godbold, Douglas L, Vasutova, Martina, Wilkinson, Anna, Edwards-Jonasova, Magda, Bambrick, Michael, Smith, Andrew R, Pavelka, Marian, Cudlin, Pavel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Betula pendula
Biomass
Carbon dioxide
community structure
Ecosystems
Electronic mail systems
FACE
Fagus sylvatica
forest
Forests
Fungi
hyphae
internal transcribed spacer (ITS)
morphotype
Picea abies
rhizomorph
root tips
sequence
Trees
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Anthropogenic activities during the last century have increased levels of atmospheric CO2. Forest net primary productivity increases in response to elevated CO2, altering the quantity and quality of carbon supplied to the rhizosphere. Ectomycorrhizal fungi form obligate symbiotic associations with the fine roots of trees that mediate improved scavenging for nutrients in exchange for a carbohydrate supply. Understanding how the community structure of ectomycorrhizal fungi is altered by climate change is important to further our understanding of ecosystem function. Betula pendula and Fagus sylvatica were grown in an elevated CO2 atmosphere delivered using free air carbon dioxide enrichment (FACE) under field conditions in the U.K., and Picea abies was grown under elevated CO2 in glass domes in the Czech Republic. We used morphotyping and sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer region of the fungal ribosomal operon to study ectomycorrhizal community structure. Under FACE, un-colonised roots tips increased in abundance for Fagus sylvatica, and during 2006, sporocarp biomass of Peziza badia significantly increased. In domes, ectomycorrhizal community composition shifted from short-distance and smooth medium-distance to contact exploration types. Supply and competition for carbon belowground can influence ectomycorrhizal community structure with the potential to alter ecosystem function.
ISSN:1999-4907
1999-4907
DOI:10.3390/f6041256