Open Access
ARTICLE
Mycorrhizal Networks Interacting with Litter Improves Nutrients and Growth for One Plant through the Vary of N/P Ratio under Karst Soil
Liling Kang1, Yuejun He1,*, Lipeng Zang1, Jianpeng Si1, Ying Yang1, Kaiping Shen1, Tingting Xia1, Qiyu Tan1, Bangli Wu1, Yun Guo1, Wei Wang2, Qin Liang3
1 Forestry College, Forest Ecology Research Center, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China
2 College of Landscape Architecture and Life Science, Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences, Chongqing, 402160, China
3 School of Pharmacy, Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, 550025, China
* Corresponding Author: Yuejun He. Email:
(This article belongs to this Special Issue: Mycorrhizal Fungi and Sustainable Development of Agriculture)
Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2021, 90(3), 701-717. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2021.014740
Received 26 October 2020; Accepted 24 November 2020; Issue published 30 March 2021
Abstract
Arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) fungi affect nutrient uptake for host plants, while it is unclear how AM fungi interacting with soil litter affect plant growth and nutrient utilization through mycorrhizal networks in karst soil of
deficient nutrients beyond the rhizosphere. An experiment was conducted in a microcosm composed of a planting
compartment for
Cinnamomum camphora seedlings with or without
Glomus mosseae fungus (M
+ vs. M
−
) and an
adjacent litter compartment containing or not containing additional litter material of
Arthraxon hispidus (L
+ vs.
L
−
), where the compartments are connected either by nylon mesh of 20 μm or 0.45 μm which either allow available mycorrhizal networks within the litter compartment or prevent mycelium entering into the litter compartment (N
+ vs. N
−
). Plant biomass and nutrients were measured. The results showed that the addition of litter
changed the symbiotic process in mycorrhizal colonization, spore, and hyphal density, which when in association
with the host plant then affected the biomass, and accumulations of N (nitrogen) and P (phosphorus) in the individual plant as well as root, stem, and leaf respectively. AM fungi increased N and P accumulations and N/P ratio
in individual plants and plant tissues. A decrease of the N/P ratio of the individual plant was observed when AM
fungus interacted significantly with litter through mycorrhizal networks in the litter compartment. The results
indicate that the
C. camphora seedlings benefited from litter in nutrient utilization of N and P through the vary
of N/P ratio when accessing mycorrhizal networks. These findings suggest that mycorrhizal networks interacting
with litter improve growth and nutrients of N and P for plants through the vary of N/P ratio in order to alleviate
nutrient limitation under karst soil.
Keywords
Cite This Article
Kang, L., He, Y., Zang, L., Si, J., Yang, Y. et al. (2021). Mycorrhizal Networks Interacting with Litter Improves Nutrients and Growth for One Plant through the Vary of N/P Ratio under Karst Soil.
Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, 90(3), 701–717.
Citations