Farms.com Home   News

Soil Fungi Help Tree Seedlings Survive, Influence Forest Diversity

A new paper published Jan. 13 in Science reveals that the relationship between soil fungi and tree seedlings is more complicated than previously known. The paper was co-written by Ylva Lekberg, an assistant professor of soil community ecology at the University of Montana.
 
Lekberg and her collaborators studied 55 species and 550 populations of North American trees. Scientists have long known that plants and soil biota can regulate one another, but the new findings highlight the complexity of the feedback loop.
 
"Fungi differ in their ability to protect tree seedlings from pathogens, and this has implications for seedling recruitment and therefore forest community patterns," Lekberg said.
 
Most plant roots are colonized by mycorrhizal fungi, but tree species associate with different fungal groups. The researchers showed that ectomycorrhizal fungi that form a thick sheet around root tips are better able to protect trees from pathogens than arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.
Click here to see more...

Trending Video

Ben Rosser: Nitrogen Management ideas for OCFB Corn Producers

Video: Ben Rosser: Nitrogen Management ideas for OCFB Corn Producers


Video focus on nitrogen management for corn producer which has been a lot of focus on nitrogen right now in terms of trying to reduce emissions. Also talking about trying to sharpen nitrogen management skills.