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Mycorrhizal infection, phosphorous uptake,
and phenology in Ranunculus adoneus: implications for the functioning
of mycorrhizae in alpine ecosystems
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R.B. Mullen and S.K. Schmidt
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| Phosphorus levels, phenology of roots and shoots, and development of vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi were monitored for two years in natural population of the perennial alpine her, Ranunculus adoneus. The purpose of this study was to understand how phosphorous uptake related to the phenology of R. adoneus and to ascertain whether arbuscules, fungal structures used for nutrient transfer, were present when maximum phosphorus accumulation was occurring. Arbuscules were only present for a few weeks during the growing season of R. adoneus and their presence corresponded with increased phosphorus accumulation in both the roots and shoots of R. adoneus. In addition, phosphorus accumulation and peaks in mycorrhizal development occurred well after plant reproduction and most plant growth had occurred. The late season accumulation of phosphorus by mycorrhizal roots of R. adoneus can flower before soils thaw and root or mycorrhizal nutrient uptake can occur. | |||||||||||
Oecologia (1993) 94: 229-234
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