Indirect host effect on ectomycorrhizal fungi: Leaf fall and litter quality explain changes in fungal communities on the roots of co-occurring Mediterranean oaks

• Published in: Soil biology & biochemistry 2010-05, Vol.42 (5), p.788-796
• Main Authors: Aponte, Cristina, García, Luis V., Marañón, Teodoro, Gardes, Monique
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Biochemistry and biology; Biological and medical sciences; Chemical, physicochemical, biochemical and biological properties; cork; Economic plant physiology; ectomycorrhizae; forest litter; forest soils; forest trees; fruiting bodies; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; host plants; Indirect host effect; Mediterranean forest; Mycorrhiza; mycorrhizal fungi; nontimber forest products; Path analysis; Physics, chemistry, biochemistry and biology of agricultural and forest soils; polymerase chain reaction; Quercus; Quercus canariensis; Quercus canariensis (Algerian oak); Quercus suber; Quercus suber (cork oak); Resupinate fungi; root systems; Russula; seasonal growth; soil fertility; soil fungi; Soil science; species diversity; subsoil; Symbiosis (nodules, symbiotic nitrogen fixation, mycorrhiza...); temperate forests; topsoil; Tree–soil–fungi interactions; woodlands
• ISSN: 0038-0717; 1879-3428
• DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2010.01.014

Host trees can modify their soil abiotic conditions through their leaf fall quality which in turn may influence the ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal community composition. We investigated this indirect interaction using a causal modelling approach. We identified ECM fungi on the roots of two coexisting oak species growing in two forests in southern Spain – Quercus suber (evergreen) and Quercus canariensis (winter deciduous)-using a PCR-based molecular method. We also analysed the leaf fall, litter and soil sampled beneath the tree canopies to determine the concentrations of key nutrients. The total mycorrhizal pool was comprised of 69 operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Tomentella and Russula were the most species-rich, frequent and abundant genera. ECM fungi with epigeous and resupinate fruiting bodies were found in 60% and 34% of the identified mycorrhizas, respectively. The calcium content of litter, which was significantly higher beneath the winter-deciduous oak species due to differences in leaf fall quality, was the most important variable for explaining ECM species distribution. The evaluation of alternative causal models by the d-sep method revealed that only those considering indirect leaf fall-mediated host effects statistically matched the observed covariation patterns between host, environment (litter, topsoil, subsoil) and fungal community variables.