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Direct and indirect effects of the fungal endophyte Epichloë uncinatum on litter decomposition of the host grass, Schedonorus pratensis

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Abstract

Microbial plant symbionts have been suggested to mediate plant-soil feedback and affect ecosystem functions. Systemic Epichloë fungal endophytes of grasses are found to mediate litter decomposition. These effects are often linked to alkaloids produced by Epichloë species, which are hypothesized to negatively affect decomposers. Although endophytes have been found to affect plant community and soil biota, direct (through litter quality) and indirect (through the environment) effects of fungal endophytes on litter decomposition have been scarcely scrutinized. We placed litterbags with endophyte-symbiotic (E+) and non-symbiotic (E−) Schedonorus pratensis plant litter in plots dominated by E+ or E− plants of the same species, and followed the dynamics of mass losses over time. We predicted the endophyte would hinder decomposition through changes in litter quality and that both types of litter would decompose faster in home environments. E+ litter decomposed faster in both environments. The mean difference between decomposition rate of E+ and E− litter tended to be higher in E− plots. Nitrogen and phosphorus, two elements usually associated with high decomposition rates, were significantly lower in E+ litter. We also detected a higher proportion of C in the cellulose form in E+ litter. Contrary to the general assumption, we found that symbiosis with Epichloë fungal endophytes can be associated with higher decomposition of plant litter. Since direct effects of Epichloë fungi were still stronger than indirect effects, it is suggested that besides the alkaloids, other changes in plant biomass would explain in a context-dependent manner, the endophyte effects on the litter decomposition.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Serdar Dirihan for his help in the field. This work was supported by the Academy of Finland Grants 137909, 281354, and 292732, Turku University Foundation, and Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Grant AGL2011-22783). We also thank the three anonymous reviewers and the subject editor for their constructive comments which significantly improved our article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IFEVA, CONICET, Faculty of Agronomy, Buenos Aires University (UBA), Av. San Martín 4453, C1417DSE, Ciudad De Buenos Aires, Argentina

    P. E. Gundel

  2. Section of Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20100, Turku, Finland

    M. Helander

  3. Natural Resources and Biomass Production Research, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), 20520, Turku, Finland

    M. Helander & K. Saikkonen

  4. Grupo de Investigacion en Agroecología (AGRECO), Universidad, Nacional de Río Negro (UNRN) and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) Sede Andina, Mitre 630, CP 8400, San Carlos De Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina

    L. A. Garibaldi

  5. Department of Abiotic Stress, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Salamanca (IRNASA), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Salamanca, Spain

    B. R. Vázquez-de-Aldana & I. Zabalgogeazcoa

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  1. P. E. Gundel
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  2. M. Helander
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Correspondence to P. E. Gundel.

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Communicated by Christina Birnbaum.

Appendix

Appendix

See Table 2.

Table 2 Analysis of variance testing for the direct (through plant biomass: symbiotic status of litter) and indirect (through the environment where symbiotic and non-symbiotic grasses has been growing: Environment type) effects of the fungal endophyte E. uncinatum on litter decomposition of the host grass S. pratensis along the experimental time (retrieval time)
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Gundel, P.E., Helander, M., Garibaldi, L.A. et al. Direct and indirect effects of the fungal endophyte Epichloë uncinatum on litter decomposition of the host grass, Schedonorus pratensis . Plant Ecol 218, 1107–1115 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-017-0755-5

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