Book Description
A great many terrestrial plants live in close association with fungi.The features of this association known as mycorrhiza, are those of a mutualistic symbiosis. Almost all plants form mycorrhizae whereby the fungus provides soil resources to the plant in exchange for energy manufactured by the plant.The symbiosis means greater productivity under stress for the plant and a steady energy supply for the fungus.This book addresses the diverse and complex ways in which mycorrhizae affect the mechanisms for plant survival as individuals and populations, for community structure, and for ecosystem functioning. It integrates information on organisms interacting with mycorrhizae from bacteria to mammals. The author takes a unique evolutionary/ecological approach to describe how and under what conditions mycorrhizae influence basic ecological processes.The applications of mycorrhizal symbioses range from managing natural and agricultural lands to biotechnological processes that enhance agricultural productivity and sustainability. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Botanical Review, published by Thomson Gale on January 1, 2004. The length of the article is 2314 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the author: We describe the occurrence of arbuscular mycorrhizae in the roots of Zamia pumila and Dioon edule. Seedlings were grown on native, unsterilized soil taken from local pinelands of south Florida, where Z. pumila occurs naturally. Arbuscules, hyphae, hyphal coils, and vesicles occur in the parenchyma cells of the root cortex, especially the half of the cortex next to the stele. Hyphae of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) occur mainly in longitudinal intercellular spaces and conform to the Acorus type. The finest, ultimate roots have AMF, but these roots are extremely brittle, detach with the slightest disturbance, and are usually lost when plants are uprooted from the ground. No AMF were found in the cortex of coralloid roots. Vovides (1991) previously reported that AMF occur on Dioon edule and Ceratozamia mexicana, and we reconfirm this in D. edule. In this species, AMF appear to be mostly associated with the outer and to a lesser extent the inner cortex. However, roots of a potted plant of C. hildae growing in native soil lacked AMF. When grown on low phosphorus soils, legumes are known to require AMF in order for their Rhizobium nodules to fix nitrogen. Without AMF, the legumes are deficient in phosphorus, which inhibits nodule production and nitrogen fixation. It is probable that cycads, with their nitrogen-fixing coralloid roots containing Nostoc, may also require AMF for successful nitrogen fixation when phosphorus is limiting.

Citation Details
Title: Mycorrhizae are present in cycad roots.
Author: Jack B. Fisher
Publication: The Botanical Review (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2004
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 70Issue: 1Page: 16(8)

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Product Description
Mycorrhizae are a type of fungus formed by the relationship between plant roots and soil, and there is a widespread agreement among botanists and soil scientists that mycorrhizae are beneficial to the health and growth of soil and plants.Research into mycorrhizae has grown enormously in recent years.It is now known that these fungi have numerous properties and functions – they promote plant growth, maintain plant and soil health, provide protection against root diseases, they assist production using reduced fertilizer and pesticides, they effect soil structure, nutrient acquisition, root length and root structure.Mycorrhizae have many useful modern practical applications – the re-vegetation of landscapes, golf courses, contaminated soils, the prevention and retardation of leaf dehydration, the maintenance of soil and plant biodiversity – to name but a few.The editors of this book have produced a valuable collection of specialised contemporary information describing state of the art and modern protocols in mycorrhizal research, compiled and presented in one authoritative volume. It will be a valued reference work for botanists, microbiologists, agricultural and soil scientists. ... Read more

Book Description
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal in Crop Production is a comprehensive guide to the use of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in developing sustainable cropping systems. This unique book examines how AMF benefit crop plants in both greenhouse and field crop production. It's also a much-needed reference source on the management of the mycorrhizal symbiosis in non-English speaking countries where the development of AMF-based technologies is more advanced. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is a journal article from Applied Soil Ecology, published by Elsevier in 2006. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Centaurea maculosa, an invasive forb in western North American grasslands, dominates more than 4millionha of rangeland in the Rocky Mountain region. Our research examined the effects of herbivory and arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) on the growth of C. maculosa, and two native grasses, Festuca idahoensis and Pseudoroegneria spicata. Plants were grown for 11 weeks, with or without AM, prior to simulated herbivory. We removed 75% of aboveground biomass from half of the plants, and harvested all plants 4 weeks later. All species increased their growth rate after clipping, but clipped plants were smaller than unclipped plants. The difference in biomass between clipped and unclipped plants was smaller for C. maculosa (clipped:unclipped=0.62) than for the native grasses (0.42 and 0.52). Plants with AM were smaller than non-AM plants across all species, with the greatest reduction in F. idahoensis (77% versus 18% in C. maculosa and P. spicata). Levels of AM colonization were minimal in F. idahoensis (<1% of root length colonized), intermediate in P. spicata (13% colonization) and highest in C. maculosa (20%). Extra radical hyphae (ERH) lengths were highest for C. maculosa, and equal between the two grasses. Because of the lower biomass, plant tissue N concentrations were higher in AM plants, but P concentrations increased in AM plants for only C. maculosa and P. spicata. The superior competitive ability of C. maculosa may be the result of greater compensatory growth after herbivory and higher amounts of ERH, both of which result in greater resource capture. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is a journal article from Applied Soil Ecology, published by Elsevier in 2006. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Exotic annual grasses have invaded most California grasslands, but the degree of invasion varies, as do the mycorrhizal communities associated with different grasslands. When restoring species to grasslands, it is important to consider the role mycorrhizal fungi and soil environmental conditions can play in affecting restoration success. For edaphic endemics soil properties will also likely be an important factor dictating the growth of the target species. We investigated how the rare forb, Erodium macrophyllum, grows in three different soils with associated mycorrhizal inocula in full factorial design. Soil and inocula came from a grassland dominated with the native grass, Nassella pulchra, a grassland dominated with exotic grasses, and from a clay soil in which E. macrophyllum is currently found. We found that E. macrophyllum responded differentially to soil textural classes and inocula, but there were no interactions; growth was greatest in loamy soil from the invaded grassland and inoculum from the invaded grassland increased growth the most regardless of soil characteristics. When restoring E. macrophyllum to different areas, soil characteristics will likely have the greatest affect on growth, but inocula will likely increase growth also. ... Read more

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Book Description
This digital document is a journal article from Chemosphere, published by Elsevier in . The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
A sand culture experiment was conducted to investigate whether mycorrhizal colonization and mycorrhizal fungal vesicular numbers were influenced by metal lead, and whether mycorrhizae enhance host plants tolerance to metal lead. Metal lead was applied as Pb(NO"3)"2 in solution at three levels (0, 300 and 600mgkg^-^1sand). Five mycorrhizal host plant species, Kummerowia striata (Thunb.) Schindl, Ixeris denticulate L., Lolium perenne L., Trifolium repens L. and Echinochloa crusgalli var. mitis were used to examine Pb-mycorrhizal interactions. The arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculum consisted of mixed spores of mycorrhizal fungal species directly isolated from orchard soil. Compared to the untreated control, both Pb concentrations reduced mycorrhizal colonization by 3.8-70.4%. Numbers of AM fungal vesicles increased by 13.2-51.5% in 300mgPbkg^-^1sand but decreased by 9.4-50.9% in 600mgPbkg^-^1sand. Mycorrhizae significantly enhanced Pb accumulation both in shoot by 10.2-85.5% and in root by 9.3-118.4%. Mycorrhizae also enhanced shoot biomass and shoot P concentration under both Pb concentrations. Root/shoot ratios of Pb concentration were higher in highly mycorrhizal plant species (K.striata, I. denticulate, and E. crusgalli var. mitis) than that in poorly mycorrhizal ones (L. perenne and T. repens,). Mycorrhizal inoculation increased the root/shoot ratio of Pb concentration of highly mycorrhizal plant species by 7.6-57.2% but did not affect the poorly mycorrhizal ones. In the treatments with 300Pbmgkg^-^1sand, plant species with higher vesicular numbers tended to show higher root/shoot ratios of the Pb concentration. We suggest that under an elevated Pb condition, mycorrhizae could promote plant growth by increasing P uptake and mitigate Pb toxicity by sequestrating more Pb in roots. ... Read more