Additive or synergistic? Early ectomycorrhizal fungal community response to mixed tree plantings in boreal forest reclamation

Scott, Natalie; Pec, Gregory J.; Karst, Justine; Landhäusser, Simon M.

doi:10.1007/s00442-018-4241-0

Highlighted Student Research
Published: 09 August 2018

Additive or synergistic? Early ectomycorrhizal fungal community response to mixed tree plantings in boreal forest reclamation

Natalie Scott ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7727-1202¹,
Gregory J. Pec¹,
Justine Karst¹ &
Simon M. Landhäusser¹

Oecologia volume 189, pages 9–19 (2019)Cite this article

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Abstract

Ectomycorrhizal fungi are an important component to ecosystem function in the boreal forest. Underlying factors influencing fungal community composition and richness, such as host identity and soil type have been studied, but interactions between these factors have been less explored. Furthermore, mixed-species stands may have additive or synergistic effects on ectomycorrhizal fungi species richness, but this effect is challenging to test on natural sites due to difficulty in finding monospecific and mixed-species stands with similar site conditions and history. Forest reclamation areas can provide an opportunity to explore some of these fundamental questions, as site conditions and history are often known and managed, with the added benefit that knowledge emerging from these studies can be used to evaluate the recovery of degraded forest landscapes. Here, we compared the richness and composition of ectomycorrhizal fungi in young single- and mixed-species stands established on a reclamation area designed to inform strategies to restore upland boreal forests disturbed by oil sands mining. Seedlings of three host tree species (Populus tremuloides, Pinus banksiana, Picea glauca) were planted in single- and mixed-species stands on three different salvaged soils (forest floor material, peat, subsoil). After four growing seasons, there was no difference in total ectomycorrhizal fungi species richness and composition in mixed- versus combined single-species stands indicating that an additive effect of host tree species prevailed early in development. However, there were compositional shifts in fungal communities across both the host tree species and the salvaged soil type, with soil type being the strongest driver.

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Acknowledgements

We thank many current and past members of the Landhäusser Research Group and the Molecular Biological Service Unit at the University of Alberta for their support. Syncrude Canada Limited, Total Exploration and Production Canada Limited, Canadian Natural Resources Limited, and Imperial Oil Resources Limited provided funding for this research.

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Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, 442 Earth Sciences Building, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E3, Canada
Natalie Scott, Gregory J. Pec, Justine Karst & Simon M. Landhäusser

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Natalie Scott
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Gregory J. Pec
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Justine Karst
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Simon M. Landhäusser
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NS, JK and SML designed the experiment. NS conducted field and laboratory work. GJP helped with statistical analysis. NS wrote and prepared the manuscript. All authors contributed equally to editing of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Natalie Scott.

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This study seeks to address past study limitations on if richness levels in mixed-species forest stands are the result of additive or synergistic effects by utilizing a reclamation site. Specifically, we focus on ectomycorrhizal fungi, a crucial organism to ecosystem function in boreal forests. Direct comparisons between fungal communities in mixed- and single-species stands were made and analyzed specifically to look for additive or synergistic effects and this knowledge was then additionally employed to inform management practices of degraded landscapes.

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Scott, N., Pec, G.J., Karst, J. et al. Additive or synergistic? Early ectomycorrhizal fungal community response to mixed tree plantings in boreal forest reclamation. Oecologia 189, 9–19 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-018-4241-0

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Received: 23 February 2018
Accepted: 18 July 2018
Published: 09 August 2018
Issue Date: January 2019
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-018-4241-0

Keywords

Richness
Community composition
Recovery
Soil