Interactions with soil fungi alter density dependence and neighborhood effects in a locally abundant dipterocarp species

Seedling recruitment can be strongly affected by the composition of nearby plant species. At the neighborhood scale (on the order of tens of meters), adult conspecifics can modify soil chemistry and the presence of host microbes (pathogens and mutualists) across their combined canopy area or rooting zones. At local or small spatial scales (on the order of one to few meters), conspecific seed or seedling density can influence the strength of intraspecific light and resource competition and also modify the density-dependent spread of natural enemies such as pathogens or invertebrate predators. Intrinsic correlation between proximity to adult conspecifics (i.e., recruitment neighborhood) and local seedling density, arising from dispersal, makes it difficult to separate the independent and interactive factors that contribute to recruitment success. Here, we present a field experiment in which we manipulated both the recruitment neighborhood and seedling density to explore how they interact to influence the growth and survival of Dryobalanops aromatica, a dominant ectomycorrhizal tree species in a Bornean tropical rainforest. First, we found that both local seedling density and recruitment neighborhood had effects on performance of D. aromaticaseedlings, though the nature of these impacts varied between growth and survival. Second, we did not find strong evidence that the effect of density on seedling survival is dependent on the presence of conspecific adult trees. However, accumulation of mutualistic fungi beneath conspecifics adults does facilitate establishment of D. aromatica seedlings. In total, our results suggest that recruitment near adult conspecifics was not associated with a performance cost and may have weakly benefitted recruiting seedlings. Positive effects of conspecifics may be a factor facilitating the regional hyperabundance of this species. Synthesis: Our results provide support for the idea that dominant species in diverse forests may escape the localized recruitment suppression that limits abundance in rarer species

Controls of nitrogen cycling evaluated along a well‐characterized climate gradient

The supply of nitrogen (N) constrains primary productivity in many ecosystems, raising the question "what controls the availability and cycling of N"? As a step toward answering this question, we evaluated N cycling processes and aspects of their regulation on a climate gradient on Kohala Volcano, Hawaii, USA. The gradient extends from sites receiving <300 mm/yr of rain to those receiving >3,000 mm/yr, and the pedology and dynamics of rock-derived nutrients in soils on the gradient are well understood. In particular, there is a soil process domain at intermediate rainfall within which ongoing weathering and biological uplift have enriched total and available pools of rock-derived nutrients substantially; sites at higher rainfall than this domain are acid and infertile as a consequence of depletion of rock-derived nutrients, while sites at lower rainfall are unproductive and subject to wind erosion. We found elevated rates of potential net N mineralization in the domain where rock-derived nutrients are enriched. Higher-rainfall sites have low rates of potential net N mineralization and high rates of microbial N immobilization, despite relatively high rates of gross N mineralization. Lower-rainfall sites have moderately low potential net N mineralization, relatively low rates of gross N mineralization, and rates of microbial N immobilization sufficient to sequester almost all the mineral N produced. Bulk soil δ15 N also varied along the gradient, from +4‰ at high rainfall sites to +14‰ at low rainfall sites, indicating differences in the sources and dynamics of soil N. Our analysis shows that there is a strong association between N cycling and soil process domains that are defined using soil characteristics independent of N along this gradient, and that short-term controls of N cycling can be understood in terms of the supply of and demand for N

Decadal changes in fire frequencies shift tree communities and functional traits

Global change has resulted in chronic shifts in fire regimes. Variability in the sensitivity of tree communities to multi-decadal changes in fire regimes is critical to anticipating shifts in ecosystem structure and function, yet remains poorly understood. Here, we address the overall effects of fire on tree communities and the factors controlling their sensitivity in 29 sites that experienced multi-decadal alterations in fire frequencies in savanna and forest ecosystems across tropical and temperate regions. Fire had a strong overall effect on tree communities, with an average fire frequency (one fire every three years) reducing stem density by 48% and basal area by 53% after 50 years, relative to unburned plots. The largest changes occurred in savanna ecosystems and in sites with strong wet seasons or strong dry seasons, pointing to fire characteristics and species composition as important. Analyses of functional traits highlighted the impact of fire-driven changes in soil nutrients because frequent burning favoured trees with low biomass nitrogen and phosphorus content, and with more efficient nitrogen acquisition through ectomycorrhizal symbioses. Taken together, the response of trees to altered fire frequencies depends both on climatic and vegetation determinants of fire behaviour and tree growth, and the coupling between fire-driven nutrient losses and plant traits

Seedling Harvest Data

This datafile includes the seedling harvest data in support of this publication. Datafile combines data from two experimental subgroups and all harvest time periods

Data from: Timing of mutualist arrival has a greater effect on Pinus muricata seedling growth than interspecific competition

Interactions with symbiotic microbes, such as mycorrhizal fungi, have the potential to greatly influence plant growth, but it is unclear whether field variation in symbiont availability is common and, if so, sufficient to influence interspecific plant competition. In a greenhouse experiment using natural field soils, I varied the timing of ectomycorrhizal inoculation and the presence of an arbuscular mycorrhizal plant competitor, and measured their effects on pine seedling growth. I found that ectomycorrhizal colonization was absent in some field soils, and that in soils without mycorrhizal inoculum, delayed arrival of ectomycorrhizal spores progressively reduced pine seedling growth and favoured growth of the competitor. Competition had significant negative effects on pine seedling growth, but the competition effect was much smaller than the effect of delayed mutualist arrival. Synthesis. The importance of mycorrhizal spore arrival time on pine growth suggests that plants may experience mutualist limitation more frequently than previously expected, and the relative magnitude of seedling responses to mycorrhizal fungi and competing plants show that in some systems mutualism is likely of equal or greater importance compared with interspecific competition in affecting plant community assembly

Woodland wildfire enables fungal colonization of encroaching Douglas-fir

Self-reinforcing differences in fire frequency help closed-canopy forests, which resist fire, and open woodlands, which naturally burn often, to co-occur stably at landscape scales. Forest tree seedlings, which could otherwise encroach and overgrow woodlands, are killed by regular fire, yet fire has other effects that may also influence these feedbacks. In particular, many forest trees require symbiotic ectomycorrhizal fungi in order to establish. By restructuring soil fungal communities, fire might affect the availability of symbionts or the potential for symbiont sharing between encroaching trees and woodland vegetation.To investigate this possibility, we performed a soil bioassay experiment using inoculum from burned and unburned oak woodlands and Douglas-fir forests. We examined how fire, ecosystem type, and neighboring heterospecific seedlings affect fungal root community assembly of Douglas-firs and oaks. We asked whether heterospecific seedlings facilitated fungal colonization of seedling roots in non-native soil, and if so, whether fire influenced this interaction.External fungal colonization of oak roots was more influenced by fire and ecosystem type than by the presence of a Douglas-fir, and oaks increased the likelihood that Douglas-fir roots would be colonized by fungi in oak woodland soil. Yet, fire increased colonization of Douglas-fir in oak soil, diminishing the otherwise crucial role played by oak facilitation. Fire also strengthened the positive effect of Douglas-firs on oak root-associated fungal diversity in Douglas-fir forest soil.Prior work shows that fire supports woodland ecosystems by stemming recruitment of encroaching seedlings. Here, we find evidence that it may contrastingly reduce fungal limitation of invasive seedling growth and establishment, otherwise relieved only by facilitation. Future work can investigate how these opposing effects might contribute to the net impact of changes in fire regime on landcover stability.ISSN:0269-8463ISSN:1365-243

Competition-function tradeoffs in ectomycorrhizal fungi.

Background. The extent to which ectomycorrhizal fungi mediate primary production, carbon storage, and nutrient remineralization in terrestrial ecosystems depends upon fungal community composition. However, the factors that govern community composition at the root system scale are not well understood. Here, we explore a potential tradeoff between ectomycorrhizal fungal competitive ability and enzymatic function. Methods. We grew Pinus muricata (Bishop Pine) seedlings in association with ectomycorrhizal fungi from three different genera in a fully factorial experimental design. We measured seedling growth responses, ectomycorrhizal abundance, and the root tip activity of five different extracellular enzymes involved in the mobilization of carbon and phosphorus. Results. We found an inverse relationship between competitiveness, quantified based on relative colonization levels, and enzymatic activity. Specifically, Thelephora terrestris, the dominant fungus, had the lowest enzyme activity levels, while Suillus pungens, the least dominant fungus, had the highest. Discussion. Our results identify a tradeoff between competition and function in ectomycorrhizal fungi, perhaps mediated by the competing energetic demands associated with competitive interactions and enzymatic production. These data suggest that mechanisms such as active partner maintenance by host trees may be important to maintaining "high-quality" ectomycorrhizal fungal partners in natural systems

Competition-function tradeoffs in ectomycorrhizal fungi.

Background. The extent to which ectomycorrhizal fungi mediate primary production, carbon storage, and nutrient remineralization in terrestrial ecosystems depends upon fungal community composition. However, the factors that govern community composition at the root system scale are not well understood. Here, we explore a potential tradeoff between ectomycorrhizal fungal competitive ability and enzymatic function. Methods. We grew Pinus muricata (Bishop Pine) seedlings in association with ectomycorrhizal fungi from three different genera in a fully factorial experimental design. We measured seedling growth responses, ectomycorrhizal abundance, and the root tip activity of five different extracellular enzymes involved in the mobilization of carbon and phosphorus. Results. We found an inverse relationship between competitiveness, quantified based on relative colonization levels, and enzymatic activity. Specifically, Thelephora terrestris, the dominant fungus, had the lowest enzyme activity levels, while Suillus pungens, the least dominant fungus, had the highest. Discussion. Our results identify a tradeoff between competition and function in ectomycorrhizal fungi, perhaps mediated by the competing energetic demands associated with competitive interactions and enzymatic production. These data suggest that mechanisms such as active partner maintenance by host trees may be important to maintaining "high-quality" ectomycorrhizal fungal partners in natural systems

Flowers as islands: spatial distribution of nectar-inhabiting microfungi among plants of Mimulus aurantiacus, a hummingbird-pollinated shrub

Abstract Microfungi that inhabit floral nectar offer unique opportunities for the study of microbial distribution and the role that dispersal limitation may play in generating distribution patterns. Flowers are well-replicated habitat islands, among which the microbes disperse via pollinators. This metapopulation system allows for investigation of microbial distribution at multiple spatial scales. We examined the distribution of the yeast, Metschnikowia reukaufii, and other fungal species found in the floral nectar of the sticky monkey flower, Mimulus aurantiacus, a hummingbird-pollinated shrub, at a California site. We found that the frequency of nectar-inhabiting microfungi on a given host plant was not significantly correlated with light availability, nectar volume, or the percent cover of M. aurantiacus around the plant, but was significantly correlated with the location of the host plant and loosely correlated with the density of flowers on the plant. These results suggest that dispersal limitation caused by spatially nonrandom foraging by pollinators may be a primary factor driving the observed distribution pattern