Abstract
The occurrence of arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) was surveyed in ten endemic plant species of the Koniambo Massif (New Caledonia) and associated metal-enriched ultramafic soils along a topographic sequence ranging from a plateau at 900 m altitude to a valley at 700 m. In the four different plant formations (Araucaria group on the plateau, ligno-herbaceous maquis, Tristaniopsis maquis and Nothofagus forest in the valley), all plants were consistently colonised by AM fungi, even the sedges Costularia arundinacea, C. nervosa and Lepidosperma perteres and the nickel-hyperaccumulating plant Phyllanthus favieri. Dual (AM and ectomycorrhiza EM) colonisation was observed in the two plant formations dominated by the ectomycorrhizal plants Nothofagus balansae for the forest (site 4) and Tristaniopsis guillainii and T. calobuxus for the Tristaniopsis maquis (site 3). In the soils, there are strong positive correlations between microbial activity, black AM spore abundance and concentrations of available metals indicating the role of the biotic component in the release of metals. These results suggest that these symbioses are important in the adaptation of the endemic plants to these soils, and may be relevant to ecological restoration of the ancient nickel mines.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ames RN, Reid CPP, Porter LK, Cambardella C (1983) Hyphal uptake and transport of nitrogen from two 15N labelled sources by Glomus mosseae, a vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus. New Phytol 95:381–396
Amir H, Pineau R (2003a) Relationship between extractable Ni, Co and other metals and some microbiological characteristics of different ultramafic soils from New Caledonia. Aust J Soil Res 41:215–228
Amir H, Pineau R (2003b) Release of Ni and Co by microbial activity in New Caledonian ultramafic soils. Can J Microbiol 49:288–293
Amir H, Pineau R, Violette Z (1997) Premiers résultats sur les endomycorhizes des plantes de maquis miniers de Nouvelle-Calédonie. In: Jaffré T, Reeves RD, Becquer T (eds) The ecology of ultramafic and metalliferous areas. ORSTOM Nouméa, pp 79–85
Bolan NS, Robson AD, Barrow NJ (1987) Effect of vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhiza on the availability of iron phosphates to plants. Plant Soil 22:401–410
Bourdon E, Becquer T, Edighoffer S, Bonzon B (1995) Caractérisation du comportement physique de deux types de faciès de sols ferallitiques issus de roches ultramafiques. In: Jaffré T, Reeves RD, Becquer T (eds) The ecology of ultramafic and metalliferous areas. ORSTOM Nouméa, Nouméa, pp 49–56
Brundrett M (1991) Mycorrhizas in natural ecosystems. Adv Ecol Res 21:171–313
Brundrett MC, Jasper DA, Ashwath N (1999) Glomalean mycorrhizal fungi from tropical Australia II. The effect of nutrient levels and host species on the isolation of fungi. Mycorrhiza 8:315–321
Collion A (2004) Relation entre l’hyperaccumulation du nickel et l’importance de la mycorrhization chez quelques espèces végétales des milieux serpentiniques de la Nouvelle-Calédonie. Rapport DEA Univ. Corse/Univ. Nouvelle-Calédonie
Daniels-Hetrick BA (1984) Ecology of VA mycorrhizal fungi. In: Powell CL, Bagyaraj DJ (eds) Mycorrhiza. CRC, Boca Raton, Florida, pp 35–55
Erland S, Taylor AFS (2002) Diversity of ectomycorrhizal fungal communities in relation to the abiotic environment. In: Van der Heijden MGA, Sanders IR (eds) Mycorrhizal ecology. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 163–201
Gonçalves SC, Martins-Louçao MA, Freitas H (2001) Arbuscular mycorrhizas of Festuca brigantina, an endemic serpentinophyte from Portugal. S Afr J Sci 97:571–572
Harrington TJ, Mitchell DT (2002) Colonisation of root systems of Carex flacca and C. pilulifera by Cortinarius (Dermocybe) cinnamomeus. Mycol Res 106:452–459
Jaffré T (1974) La végétation d’un massif de roches ultrabasiques de Nouvelle-Calédonie: le Koniambo. Candollea 29:427–456
Jaffré T (1980) Etude écologique du peuplement végétal des sols dérivés de roches ultrabasiques en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Travaux et Documents ORSTOM No. 124
Jaffré T (1992) Floristic and ecological diversity of the vegetation on ultramafic rocks in New Caledonia. In: Baker AJM, Proctor J, Reeves RD (eds) The vegetation of ultramafic (serpentine) soils. Intercept, Andover, pp 101–107
Jasper DA, Robson AD, Abbott LK (1988) Revegetation in an iron-ore mine-nutrient requirements for plant growth and the potential role of vesicular arbuscular (VA) mycorrhizal fungi. Aust J Bot 26:497–507
Jasper DA, Abbott LK, Robson AD (1989) Soil disturbance reduces the infectivity of external hyphae of vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. New Phytol 112:93–99
Khan AG, Kuek C, Chaudhry TM, Khoo CS, Hayes WJ (2000) Role of plants, mycorrhizae and phytochelators in heavy metal contaminated land remediation. Chemosphere 41:197–207
Köppen W (1954) Classification of climates and world patterns. In: Trewartha GT (ed) An introduction to climate. McGraw-Hill, New York, pp 225–226
Koske RE, Gemma JN (1989) A modified procedure for staining roots to detect VA Mycorrhizas. Mycol Res 92:486–505
Krämer U (2005) Phytoremediation: novel approaches to cleaning up polluted soils. Curr Opin Biotechnol 16:1–9
Lindsay WL, Norvell WA (1978) Development of a DTPA soil test for zinc, iron, manganese and copper. Soil Sci Soc Am J 42:421–428
Marschner H, Dell B (1994) Nutrient uptake in mycorrhizal fungi. Plant Soil 159:89–102
Meteo-France (2004) Bilan des mesures météorologiques effectuées pour le projet Koniambo. Rapport Interne, Noumea, New Caledonia
Muthukumar T, Udaiyan K, Shanmughavel P (2004) Mycorrhiza in sedges, an overview. Mycorrhiza 14:65–77
Perrier N, Colin F, Jaffré T, Ambrosi J-P, Rose J, Bottero J-Y (2004) Nickel speciation in Sebertia acuminata, a plant growing on a lateritic soil of New Caledonia. C R Geosciences 336:567–577
Perrier N, Ambrosi JP, Colin F, Gilkes RJ (2006) Biogeochemistry of a regolith: the New Caledonian Koniambo ultramafic massif. J Geochem Explor 88:54–58
Powell CL (1974) Effect of P fertilizer on root morphology and P uptake of Carex coriacea. Plant Soil 41:661–667
Powell CL (1975) Rushes and sedges are non-mycotrophic. Plant Soil 42:481–484
Quantin C, Becquer T, Rouiller JH, Berthelin J (2001) Oxide weathering and trace metal release by bacterial reduction in a New Caledonia Ferralsol. Biogeochemistry 53:323–340
Quantin C, Becquer T, Berthelin J (2002) Mn-oxide: a major source of easily mobilisable Co and Ni under reducing conditions in New Caledonia Ferralsols. C R Geosciences 334:273–278
Reeves RD (2003) Tropical hyperaccumulators of metals and their potential for phytoextraction. Plant Soil 249:57–65
Roche (2001) Koniambo project: environmental baseline study. Falconbridge NC, Noumea, New Caledonia
Schlegel HG, Cosson J-P, Baker AJM (1991) Nickel-hyperaccumulating plants provide a niche for nickel-resistant bacteria. Bot Acta 104:18–25
Schnürer J, Rosswall T (1982) Fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis as a measure of total microbial activity in soil and litter. Appl Environ Microbiol 43:1256–1261
Tommerup IC, Kidby DK (1979) Preservation of spores of vesicular-arbusciular endophytes by L-drying. Appl Environ Microbiol 37:831–835
Trescases JJ (1975) L’Evolution Géochimique Supergène des Roches Ultrabasiques en Zone Tropicale. Mémoires ORSTOM No. 78, Paris
Trouvelot A, Kough JL, Gianinazzi-Pearson V (1986) Mesure du taux de mycorhization VA d’un système radiculaire. Recherche de méthodes d’estimation ayant une signification fonctionnelle. In: Gianinazzi-Pearson V, Gianinazzi S (eds) Physiological and genetical aspects of mycorrhizae. INRA edn, Paris, pp 217–221
Turnau K, Mesjasz-Przybylowicz J (2003) Arbuscular mycorrhiza of Berkheya coddii and other Ni-hyperaccumulating members of Asteraceae from ultramafic soils in South Africa. Mycorrhiza 13:185–190
Weiersbye IM, Straker CJ, Przybylowicz WJ (1999) Micro-PIXE mapping of elemental distribution in arbuscular mycorrhizal roots of the grass, Cynodon dactylon, from gold and uranium mine tailings. Nucl Instrum Methods Phys Res B 158:335–343
Weissenhorn I, Mench M, Leyval C (1995) Bioavailability of heavy metals and arbuscular mycorrhiza in a sewage-sludge-amended sandy soil. Soil Biol Biochem 27:287–296
Zelles L, Scheunert I, Kreutzer K (1987) Bioactivity in limed soils of spruce forest. Biol Fertil Soils 3:211–216
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Falconbrige NC for Nicolas Perrier’s PhD grant, Diane Bahuaud, Anne Collion, Valérie Medevielle and all the LPBVA staff for the field and lab assistance.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Perrier, N., Amir, H. & Colin, F. Occurrence of mycorrhizal symbioses in the metal-rich lateritic soils of the Koniambo Massif, New Caledonia. Mycorrhiza 16, 449–458 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00572-006-0057-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00572-006-0057-6