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. 2023 Aug 30:14:1226720.
doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1226720. eCollection 2023.

Ectomycorrhizal community associated with Cedrus deodara in four urban forests of Nantong in East China

Zhugui Wen  1 , Chunyan Lin  1 , Xiaoming Xu  1 , Simiao Ma  1 , Yue Peng  1 , Yue Sun  1 , Boping Tang  1 , Liang Shi  2
Affiliations

Ectomycorrhizal community associated with Cedrus deodara in four urban forests of Nantong in East China

Zhugui Wen et al. Front Plant Sci. .

Abstract

Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi play fundamental roles in host plant growth and terrestrial ecosystems. Cedrus deodara is cultivated in several regions in China, has high ecological, economic and medicinal value, for its afforestation and providing timber and wood oil. Here, we investigated ECM colonization status of four urban C. deodara forests in Nantong, East China. We also characterized soil spore banks by conducting bioassay experiments using soils collected from these forests. In total, we identified 19 ECM fungal species, of which 13 species were found in mature forests and 9 species were identified in bioassay experiments, with only 3 species shared. Soil pH and available P content had significant effects on species occurrence in both mature trees and bioassay seedlings on local scales. ECM communities clearly (A = 0.391, p = 0.006) separated mature forests from spore banks. Thelephoracae was the richest family we detected associated with C. deodara, while Trichophaea sp. was the most dominant in mature forests, and Wilcoxina sp. was dominant in spore banks. ECM richness affected the growth of bioassay seedlings, especially after inoculation with 2 ECM species, promoting root growth, significantly (F = 3.028, p = 0.050), but it had no effects on shoots (F = 1.778, p = 0.177). No effect of inoculation rate was found on seedlings growth. To conserve this important tree species, the ECM fungi that are associated with it should be considered.

Keywords: Cedrus deodara; community composition; ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi; seedlings growth; soil properties.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Species accumulation curves for ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi found in Cedrus deodara forests. Circles, triangles, and squares represent bioassay, mature, and total observed ECM fungal species richness (open) and Chao2 minimum species richness estimates (filled), respectively.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS) of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal communities in resident Cedrus deodara tree roots (Mature) and soil spore banks (Bioassay), based on the relative Sørensen distance. LSP, Langshan Park; BJP, Binjiang Park; GEG, Green Expo Garden; PHW, Provincial highway.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Redundancy analysis (RDA) of ectomycorrhizal fungi detected [(A) mature forests and (B) soil spore banks] in important Cedrus deodara forests with reference to soil parameters. Ava, Available; WS, Water Soluble; TOM, Total Organic Matter; Cer, Ceratobasidium; Geo, Geopora; Hel, Helotiales; Hyd, Hydnobolites; Pez, Pezizales; Pis, Pisolithus; The, Thelephoraceae; Tom, Tomentella; Tri, Trichophaea; Wil, Wilcoxina; Pezi, Pezizaceae. Species names are based on Table 2 .
Figure 4
Figure 4
Correlation between the growth of bioassay Cedrus deodara seedlings [(A) dry weight of root (filled) or shoot (open); (B) dry weight of total seedlings] and ectomycorrhizal fungal richness colonized from soil spore banks in Cedrus deodara forests. Only one seedling was colonized with three ECM fungal species and was excluded from analyses.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Regression between seedlings growth [(A) dry weight of root; (B) dry weight of shoot] and inoculation rate.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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