1. Mycorrhizal patterns in depth
Franklin Diggs
SUNY ESF

2. Review
Mycorrhiza are symbiotic relationships between plant roots and soil inhabiting fungi
Plants pass photosynthate to the fungi in return for mineral nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorous
Formed by most land plants

3. Forests as networks Martin Dodge, 2007)
Martin Dodge, 2007)

4. Classification sporocarp mantle vesicle Hartig Net
sporocarp
mantle
Hartig Net
vesicle

5. Why are we interested in depth?
Niche partitioning
Studies in monocultures of dual infection hosts have shown guild wide niche partitioning (Neville et al. 2002)
Nutrient cycling
Arbuscular mycorrhizae are thought to be responsible for phosphate mining, and may be a chief component of phosphorous additions to older plant communities (Smith and Read 2008)

6. Objectives
Compare percent root length colonized in each guild along depth and the ratio of the two
Compare the root length of each guild along depth and the ratio of the two \

7. Hypotheses
Percent root length colonized will be less in the deeper soils than in the shallow in both guilds, the AM/EM ratio will increase with depth
Colonized root length will be less in the deep soil, but the AM/EM ratio will increase with depth

8. Field methods Roots were collected by the shoestring crew in fall 2010
Shallow soils were collected using 10cm soil cores
A 20cm power core was used to collect deep soils
Soils were separated into horizons based on visual inspection

9. Methods Root length is estimated using grid intersection
Ectomycorrhizal colonization is estimated by using the proportion of those intersections which crossed ectomycorrhizal root tips compared to colonized root
To estimate Arbuscular mycorrhizal percentage <1mm diameter roots are cut into 2mm section and stained, slides are prepared and examined at 400x magnification and the presence or absence of arbuscular mycorrhizal features is noted

10. Methods

11. Root length per area of soil by mycorrhizal guild
Results
Root length per area of soil by mycorrhizal guild

12. Results
Greater colonization in shallow soils regardless of guild (p<0.001)
Greater root length in shallow soils regardless of guild (p=0.016)
No change in the ratio of percent colonization between guilds across depth (p=0.46)
Change in the ratio of root length between guilds across depth in one stand

13. Future work Post treatment mycorrhizal measurements
-Decrease in mycorrhiza tion
in response to fertilization
Use molecular methods to determine variation in mycorrhizal diversity across depth
Development of new AM primers may lead to a unified methodology for sampling mycorrhiza of both guilds

14. Acknowledgements Ruth Yanai Thomas Horton Tim Fahey
2010 Shoestring crew
Matt Vadeboncoeur
April Doner
Kikang Bae
MELNHE project and the Shoestring crew
McIntire-Stennis Fund
Bartlettt experimental forest

15. Works cited
Brundett, M., N. Bougher, B. Dell, T. Grove, and N. Malajczuk Working with Mycorrhizas in Forestry and Agriculture. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research.
Dickie, I. A., B. Xu, and R. T. Koide Vertical niche differentiation of ectomycorrhizal hyphae in soil as shown by T-RFLP analysis. New Phytologist 156:527–535. doi: /j x.
Neville, J., J. . Tessier, I. Morrison, J. Scarratt, B. Canning, and J. . Klironomos Soil depth distribution of ecto- and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with Populus tremuloides within a 3-year-old boreal forest clear-cut. Applied Soil Ecology 19:209–216. doi: /S (01)
Smith, S. E., and D. J. Read Mycorrhizal Symbiosis, Third Edition, 3rd edition. Academic Press.