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. 2024 Feb;241(3):1062-1073.
doi: 10.1111/nph.19384. Epub 2023 Nov 10.

Warming influences carbon and nitrogen assimilation between a widespread Ericaceous shrub and root-associated fungi

Stefan F Hupperts  1 , Kazi Samiul Islam  1 , Michael J Gundale  1 , Paul Kardol  1   2 , Maja K Sundqvist  1
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Free article

Warming influences carbon and nitrogen assimilation between a widespread Ericaceous shrub and root-associated fungi

Stefan F Hupperts et al. New Phytol. 2024 Feb.
Free article

Abstract

High-latitude ecosystems are warming faster than other biomes and are often dominated by a ground layer of Ericaceous shrubs, which can respond positively to warming. The carbon-for-nitrogen (C-for-N) exchange between Ericaceous shrubs and root-associated fungi may underlie shrub responses to warming, but has been understudied. In a glasshouse setting, we examined the effects of warming on the C-for-N exchange between the Ericaceous shrub Empetrum nigrum ssp. hermaphroditum and its root-associated fungi. We applied different 13 C and 15 N isotope labels, including a simple organic N form (glycine) and a complex organic N form (moss litter) and quantified their assimilation into soil, plant biomass, and root fungal biomass pools. We found that warming lowered the amount of 13 C partitioned to root-associated fungi per unit of glycine 15 N assimilated by E. nigrum, but only in the short term. By contrast, warming increased the amount of 13 C partitioned to root-associated fungi per unit of moss 15 N assimilated by E. nigrum. Our study suggests that climate warming affects the short-term exchange of C and N between a widespread Ericaceous shrub and root-associated fungi. Furthermore, while most isotope tracing studies use labile N sources, we demonstrate that a ubiquitous recalcitrant N source may produce contrasting results.

Keywords: Empetrum; boreal; climate change; ericoid mycorrhizas; mycorrhizal fungi; nitrogen mineralization; stable isotopes; warming.

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