Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Mycorrhizal networks and distance from mature trees alter patterns of competition and facilitation in dry Douglas-fir forests

  • Physiological ecology - Original Paper
  • Published:
Oecologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The distribution of dry Douglas-fir forests in western North America is expected to shift northward with climate change and disappear from the grassland interface in the southern interior of British Columbia. This shift may be accentuated by clearcutting, a common harvesting practice that aims to reduce the competitive effects of residual mature trees on new regeneration, but in so doing, ignores their facilitative effects. In this study, we investigated the net effects of competition from and facilitation by mature trees retained on harvested sites on seedling establishment in the dry interface Douglas-fir forests. We demonstrate that access to a mycorrhizal network (MN) and proximity to trees have important influences on seedling performance. On six sites, we established trenched plots around 24 mature Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca (Douglas-fir) trees, then planted Douglas-fir seedlings into four mesh treatments that served to restrict MN access (i.e., planted into mesh bags with 0.5-, 35-, or 250-μm pores, or without mesh) or into impermeable bags (grown in isolation) at four distances (0.5, 1.0, 2.5, or 5.0 m). Seedling survival tended to be greater and water stress lower where seedlings had full access to the MN. Seedling height, shoot biomass, needle biomass, and nutrient uptake peaked at 2.5–5.0 m from mature trees. Seedlings 0.5 m from mature trees had lower CO2 assimilation rates and wood δ13C compared to seedlings 5.0 m away. Competition for soil resources was highest near mature trees but facilitation was relatively greater at further distances, resulting in a zone of net benefit for seedlings. These results show that intraspecific tree-seedling interactions are both competitive and facilitative in dry Douglas-fir forests, and that they are spatially dependent. After disturbance, maintaining residual mature trees may be important for their beneficial regeneration zones.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agerer R (2001) Exploration types of ectomycorrhizae: a proposal to classify ectomycorrhizal mycelial systems according to their patterns of differentiation and putative ecological importance. Mycorrhiza 11:107–114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arsenault A, Klenner W (2005) Fire regime in dry-belt forests of British Columbia: perspectives on historic disturbances and implications for management. In: Taylor L, Zelnik J, Cadwallander S, Hughes B (eds) Mixed severity fire regimes: ecology and management symposium proceedings. November 17–19, Spokane, WA. Association of Fire Ecology MISCO3. Washington State University, WA, pp 105–121

  • Bates D (2007) lme4: linear mixed-effects models using S4 classes. R package version 0.99875-9

  • Baylis GTS (1980) Mycorrhizas and the spread of beech. NZ J Ecol 3:151–153

    Google Scholar 

  • Bertness MD, Callaway R (1994) Positive interactions in communities. Trends Ecol Evol 9:187–191

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Booth MG (2004) Mycorrhizal networks mediate overstorey-understorey competition in a temperate forest. Ecol Lett 7:538–546

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borchers SL, Perry DA (1990) Growth and ectomycorrhiza formation of Douglas-fir seedlings grown in soils collected at different distances form pioneering hardwoods in southwest Oregon clear-cuts. Can J For Res 20:712–721

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brownlee C, Duddridge JA, Malibari A, Read DJ (1983) The structure and function of mycelial systems of ectomycorrhizal roots with special reference to their role in forming inter-plant connections and providing pathways for assimilate and water transport. Plant Soil 71:433–443

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruno JF, Stachowicz JJ, Bertness MD (2003) Inclusion of facilitation into ecological theory. Trends Ecol Evol 18:119–125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Callaway RM, Walker LR (1997) Competition and facilitation: a synthetic approach to interactions in plant communities. Ecology 78:1958–1965

    Google Scholar 

  • Callaway RM (1995) Positive interactions among plants. Bot Rev 61:306–349

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Canham CD, Papaik MJ, Uriarte M, McWilliams WH, Jenkins JC, Twery MJ (2006) Neighborhood analyses of canopy tree competition along environmental gradients in New England forests. Ecol Appl 16:540–554

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Casper BB, Jackson RB (1997) Plant competition underground. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 28:545–570

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cline ET, Ammirati JF, Edmonds RL (2005) Does proximity to mature trees influence ectomycorrhizal fungus communities of Douglas-fir seedlings? New Phytol 166:993–1009

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dang QL, Margolis HA, Coyea MR, Sy M, Collatz GJ (1997) Regulation of branch-level gas exchange of boreal trees: roles of shoot water potential and vapor pressure difference. Tree Physiol 17:521–535

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson TE (1993) Hydraulic lift and water-use by plants: implications for water-balance, performance and plant-plant interactions. Oecologia 95:565–574

    Google Scholar 

  • Dickie IA, Montgomery RA, Reich PB, Schnitzer SA (2007) Physiological and phenological responses of oak seedlings to oak forest soil in the absence of trees. Tree Physiol 27:133–140

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dickie IA, Schnitzer SA, Reich PB, Hobbie SE (2005) Spatially disjunct effects of co-occurring competition and facilitation. Ecol Lett 8:1191–1200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickie IA, Koide RT, Steiner KC (2002) Influences of established trees on mycorrhizas, nutrition, and growth of Quercus rubra seedlings. Ecol Monogr 72:505–521

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duddridge JA, Malibari A, Read DJ (1980) Structure and function of mycorrhizal rhizomorphs with special reference to their role in water transport. Nature 287:834–836

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duplessis S, Tagu D, Martin F (2002) Living together underground a molecular glimpse of the ectomycorrhizal symbiosis. In: Osiewacz HD (ed) Molecular biology of fungal development. Dekker, New York, pp 297–323

    Google Scholar 

  • Egerton-Warburton LM, Querejeta JI, Allen MF (2007) Common mycorrhizal networks provide a potential pathway for the transfer of hydraulically lifted water between plants. J Exp Bot 58:1473–1483

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Erland S, Taylor AFS (2003) Diversity of ecto-mycorrhizal fungal communities in relation to the abiotic environment. In: van der Heijden MGA, Sanders IR (eds) Mycorrhizal ecology. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 163–200

    Google Scholar 

  • Fitter AH (2001) Specificity, links and networks in the control of diversity in plant and microbial communities. In: Press MC, Huntly NJ, Levin S (eds) Ecology: achievement and challenge. The 41st Symposium of the British Ecological Society jointly sponsored by the Ecological Society of America, Orlando, FL, 10–13 April 2000. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 95–114

    Google Scholar 

  • Flores J, Jurado E (2003) Are nurse-protege interactions more common among plants from arid environments? J Veg Sci 14:911–916

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Genney DR, Anderson IC, Alexander IJ (2006) Fine-scale distribution of pine ectomycorrhizas and their extramatrical mycelium. New Phytol 170:381–390

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gómez-Aparicio L, Zamora R, Gómez JM, Hodar JA, Castro J, Baraza E (2004) Applying plant facilitation to forest restoration: a meta-analysis of the use of shrubs as nurse plants. Ecol Appl 14:1128–1138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamann A, Wang TL (2006) Potential effects of climate change on ecosystem and tree species distribution in British Columbia. Ecology 87:2773–2786

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Haskins KE, Gehring CA (2004) Interactions with juniper alter Pinyon pine ectomycorrhizal fungal communities. Ecology 85:2687–2692

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haskins KE, Gehring CA (2005) Evidence for mutualist limitation: the impacts of conspecific density on the mycorrhizal inoculum potential of woodland soils. Oecologia 145:123–131

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • He X, Critchley C, Bledsoe C (2003) Nitrogen transfer within and between plants through common mycorrhizal networks (CMNs). Crit Rev Plant Sci 22:531–567

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horton TR, Cázares E, Bruns TD (1998) Ectomycorrhizal, vesicular-arbuscular and dark septate fungal colonization of bishop pine (Pinus muicata) seedlings in the first 5 months of growth after wildfire. Mycorrhiza 8:11–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hosie RC (1990) Native trees of Canada. Fitzhenry and Whitside, Markham

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalra YP, Maynard DG (1991) Methods manual for forest soil and plant analysis. Forestry Canada information report NOR-X–319, Edmonton

  • Kennedy PG, Sousa WP (2006) Forest encroachment into a Californian grassland: examining the simultaneous effects of facilitation and competition on tree seedling recruitment. Oecologia 148:464–474

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Klinka K, Worrall J, Skoda L, Varga P, Krajina VJ (2004) The distribution and synopsis of ecological and silvical characteristics of tree species of British Columbia. Canadian Cartographics, Coquitlam

    Google Scholar 

  • Kranabetter JM (1999) The effect of refuge trees on a paper birch ectomycorrhiza community. Can J Bot 77:1523–1528

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lloyd D, Angove K, Hope G, Thompson C (1990) A guide to site identification and interpretation for the Kamloops Forest Region. British Columbia Ministry of Forests, land management handbook, 23. British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Victoria

  • Lodge DJ, Wentworth TR (1990) Negative associations among VA-mycorrhizal fungi and some mycorrhizal fungi inhabiting the same root system. Oikos 57:347–356

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maxwell K, Johnson GN (2000) Chlorophyll fluorescence: a practical guide. J Exp Bot 51:659–668

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McGill WB, Figueiredo CT (1993) Total nitrogen. In: Carter MR (ed) Soil sampling and methods of analysis. Lewis, FL, pp 201–211

    Google Scholar 

  • McGuire KL (2007) Common ectomycorrhizal networks may maintain monodominance in a tropical rain forest. Ecology 88:567–574

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McPhee CS, Aarssen LW (2001) The separation of above- and below-ground competition in plants: a review and critique of methodology. Plant Ecol 152:119–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Molles MC, Cahill JF (2008) Ecology: concepts and applications, the Canadian edn. McGraw-Hill Ryerson, Whitby

    Google Scholar 

  • Nara K (2006a) Ectomycorrhizal networks and seedling establishment during early primary succession. New Phytol 169:169–178

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nara K (2006b) Pioneer dwarf willow may facilitate tree succession by providing late colonizers with compatible ectomycorrhizal fungi in a primary successional volcanic desert. New Phytol 171:187–198

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nara K, Hogetsu T (2004) Ectomycorrhizal fungi on established shrubs facilitate subsequent seedling establishment of successional plant species. Ecology 85:1700–1707

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newman EI (1988) Mycorrhizal links between plants: their functioning and ecological significance. Adv Ecol Res 18:243–270

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newsome TA, Sutherland DC, Vyse A (1991) Establishing Douglas-fir plantations in the dry belt of interior British Columbia. In: Baumgartner DM, Lotan JE (eds) Interior Douglas-fir: the species and its management. Washington State University, Cooperative Extension Service, WA, pp 227–233

  • Packer A, Clay K (2003) Soil pathogens and Prunus serotina seedling and sapling growth near conspecific trees. Ecology 84:108–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pate JS (2001) Carbon isotope discrimination and plant water-use efficiency. In: Unkovich M (ed) Stable isotope techniques in the study of biological processes and functioning of ecosystems. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp 19–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Perry DA, Amaranthus MP, Borchers JG, Borchers SL, Brainerd RE (1989) Bootstrapping in ecosystems. Bioscience 39:230–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perry DA (1999) Reply from D.  A. Perry. Trends Ecol Evol 14:70–71

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips FJ (1909) A study of pinyon pine. Bot Gaz 48:216–223

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pinheiro JC, Bates DM (2000) Mixed-effects models in S and S-PLUS. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinheiro J, Bates D, DebRoy S, Sarkar D, the R Core team (2007) Nlme: linear and nonlinear mixed effects models. R package version 3.1-86

  • Prescott CE, Vesterdal L, Preston CM, Simard SW (2004) Influence of initial chemistry on decomposition of foliar litter in contrasting forest types in British Columbia. Can J For Res 34:1714–1729

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • R Development Core Team (2007) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R foundation for statistical computing, ISBN 3-900051-07-0, URL http://www.R-project.org, Vienna

  • Rosling A, Landeweert R, Lindahl BD, Larsson KH, Kuyper TW, Taylor AFS, Finlay RD (2003) Vertical distribution of ectomycorrhizal fungal taxa in a podzol soil profile. New Phytol 159:775–783

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schabenberger O, Pierce FJ (2002) Contemporary statistical models for the plant and soil sciences. CRC, Boca Raton

    Google Scholar 

  • Scholes RJ, Archer SR (1997) Tree-grass interactions in savannas. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 28:517–544

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schoonmaker AL, Teste FP, Simard SW, Guy RD (2007) Tree proximity, soil pathways and common mycorrhizal networks: their influence on the utilization of redistributed water by understory seedlings. Oecologia 154:455–466

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Selosse MA, Richard F, He XH, Simard SW (2006) Mycorrhizal networks: des liaisons dangereuses? Trends Ecol Evol 21:621–628

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Simard SW, Radosevich SR, Sachs DL, Hagerman SM (2006) Evidence for competition and facilitation trade-offs: effects of Sitka alder density on pine regeneration and soil productivity. Can J For Res 36:1286–1298

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simard SW, Durall DM (2004) Mycorrhizal networks: a review of their extent, function, and importance. Can J Bot 82:1140–1165

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Simard SW, Perry DA, Jones MD, Myrold DD, Durall DM, Molina R (1997) Net transfer of carbon between tree species with shared ecto-mycorrhizal fungi. Nature 388:579–582

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smith JE, Johnston KA, Cázares E (1998) Vesicular mycorrhizal colonization of seedlings of Pinaceae and Betulaceae after spore inoculation with Glomus intraradices. Mycorrhiza 7:279–285

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith SE, Read DJ (1997) Mycorrhizal symbiosis, 2nd edn. Academic Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor AF (2006) Common mycelial networks: life-lines and radical addictions. New Phytol 169:6–8

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Teste FP (2008) Role of mycorrhizal networks in dry Douglas-fir forests. Ph.D. thesis. The University of British Columbia, Vancouver

    Google Scholar 

  • Teste FP, Karst J, Jones MD, Simard SW, Durall DM (2006) Methods to control ectomycorrhizal colonization: effectiveness of chemical and physical barriers. Mycorrhiza 17:51–65

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tiessen H, Moir JO (1993) Total and organic carbon. In: Carter MR (ed) Soil sampling and methods of analysis. Lewis, FL, pp 187–199

    Google Scholar 

  • Tilman D (1988) Plant strategies and the dynamics and structure of plant communities. Princeton University Press, Priceton

    Google Scholar 

  • Tilman D (1982) Resource competition and community structure. Princeton University Press, Priceton

    Google Scholar 

  • Twieg BD, Durall DM, Simard SW (2007) Ectomycorrhizal fungal succession in mixed temperate forests. New Phytol 176:437–447

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang B, Qiu YL (2006) Phylogenetic distribution and evolution of mycorrhizas in land plants. Mycorrhiza 16:299–363

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Watts WR, Neilson RE (1978) Photosynthesis in Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.. VIII. Measurements of stomatal conductance and 14CO2 uptake in controlled environments. J Appl Ecol 15:245–255

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to Amanda Schoonmaker for her help during the field work. We are indebted to Gordon Leschyson for renting his CanDig (Kamloops, BC, Canada) mini-excavator and Rocky Hudson at High Country Cold Storage for the nursery-grown seedlings. We thank Brent Olsen and Don Brimacombe for assistance during the site selection process. We are grateful to Dr Robert Guy for his valuable advice on the physiological measurements and C isotope analyses, and to Drs Daniel Durall, Melanie Jones, and Shannon Berch for earlier comments on the study design. Tony Kozak and Val LeMay provided advice on data analysis. Funding was provided by a FSP Forest Investment Innovation of British Columbia grant, a Canadian Foundation for Innovation grant, a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Discovery Grant to S. W. S., and an NSERC PGS scholarship to F. P. T. We declare that the experiments comply with the current laws of the country in which they were performed.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forest Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

    François P. Teste & Suzanne W. Simard

Authors
  1. François P. Teste
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Suzanne W. Simard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to François P. Teste.

Additional information

Communicated by Todd Dawson.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplemental tables (DOC 25 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Teste, F.P., Simard, S.W. Mycorrhizal networks and distance from mature trees alter patterns of competition and facilitation in dry Douglas-fir forests. Oecologia 158, 193–203 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-008-1136-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-008-1136-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation