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Mycobionts of Salix herbacea on a glacier forefront in the Austrian Alps

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Abstract

Dwarf willows (e.g. Salix herbacea) are among the earliest ectomycorrhizal (EM) plants colonising primary successional sites such as glacier forefronts in the Tyrolean Alps. EM of S. herbacea were sampled at the Rotmoos glacier forefront (Ötz Valley, Austria) three times a year during the growing season and once a year during winter when plants were covered with snow in 2005 and 2006. EM were investigated using morphological methods and by sequencing the rDNA ITS region. The degree of EM mycorrhization was high throughout both years (93%). We distinguished 21 EM morphotypes and identified 19 fungal species. Cenococcum geophilum, Sebacina spp., Tomentella spp. and Cortinarius spp. dominated the mycobiont community of S. herbacea. The observed species richness in this about 150-year-old soil was at least 59% of the estimated species richness. Fungal communities differed significantly between consecutive years, and spatial heterogeneity was high. These differences made it difficult to detect seasonal impacts. Abundances of C. geophilum EM increased throughout the 2-year sampling period. Sebacina incrustans EM were very abundant in 2005, but nearly disappeared in 2006, whilst its fruitbodies were still frequent in the sampling area. This suggests that the mycorrhizae were displaced from the roots by an outcompeting species, whereas the mycelium was still present in the soil.

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Acknowledgments

This study was financed by the FWF within the project “Seasonal dynamics of underground ectomycorrhizal fungal communities in an alpine primary successional habitat”, project number P17910-B03. We thank M. Bacher, I. Oberkofler, R. Kuhnert and V. Schmidt for their sampling assistance and Rüdiger Kaufmann for the provision of soil temperature and moisture data. Thanks to Ingrid Franke-Whittle for reading and correcting this manuscript.

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  1. Institute of Microbiology, University Innsbruck, Technikerstr. 25, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria

    Oliver Mühlmann & Ursula Peintner

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  1. Oliver Mühlmann
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  2. Ursula Peintner
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Correspondence to Oliver Mühlmann.

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Supplementary Table S1

Main distinguishing features of S. herbacea morphotypes (MT): descriptions of colour, axis form, mantle surface, emanating elements and mantle layer. Genera or species names for identified MTs are given (DOC 52 kb)

Supplementary Table S2

Abundances of S. herbacea morphotypes (MT) at the Rotmoos glacier forefront in the sampling years 2005 and 2006. Samples are sorted after years, season and plot (S1 to S5). MTs including senescent root tips and non-mycorrhizal root tips (non-myc) are sorted after their abundances in all samples pooled (DOC 87 kb)

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Mühlmann, O., Peintner, U. Mycobionts of Salix herbacea on a glacier forefront in the Austrian Alps. Mycorrhiza 18, 171–180 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00572-008-0169-2

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