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Mycorrhiza pp 557–569Cite as

Soil Acidity as a Constraint to the Application of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Technology

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Abstract

Soils that have developed under humid temperate as well as humid tropical and subtropical climatic conditions are typically acid in their natural state with pH of 5 (in water) or less. Consequently, acid soil toxicity is a major variable determining biological activity in these soils. The deleterious effect of soil acidity on the activities of sensitive organisms may be caused by the direct effect of high concentrations of hydrogen ions in solution and/or the indirect effect of low pH on the solubility and hence toxicity of Al and Mn. Moreover, in such soils, nutrients such as Ca, Mg, Mo and P are often deficient or rendered less available. The aims of this chapter are (1) to summarize the state of knowledge regarding the influence of soil acidity on arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis and (2) to propose some strategies which will contribute to a better understanding of the impacts of acid soil toxicity on the AM symbiosis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agronomy and Soil Science, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA

    M. Habte

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  1. M. Habte
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, 110067, New Delhi, India

    Ajit Varma

  2. Lehrstuhl für Botanik, Technische Universität München, 85350, Freising, Germany

    Bertold Hock

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© 1999 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Habte, M. (1999). Soil Acidity as a Constraint to the Application of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Technology. In: Varma, A., Hock, B. (eds) Mycorrhiza. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-03779-9_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-03779-9_23

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-03781-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-03779-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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