The vast majority of herbaceous plants engage into arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbioses and consideration of their mycorrhizal status should be embodied in studies of plant-microbe interactions. To establish reliable...The vast majority of herbaceous plants engage into arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbioses and consideration of their mycorrhizal status should be embodied in studies of plant-microbe interactions. To establish reliable AM contrasts, however, a sterilized re-inoculation procedure is commonly adopted. It was questioned whether the specific approach is sufficient for the studies targeting the bacterial domain, specifically nitrifiers, a group of autotrophic, slow growing microbes. In a controlled experiment mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal Plantago lanceolata were grown up in compartmentalized pots to study the AM effect on nitrification rates in the plant rhizosphere. Nitrification rates were assayed following an extensive 3-week bacterial equilibration step of the re-inoculated soil and a 13-week plant growth period in a controlled environment. Under these specific conditions, the nitrification potential levels at harvest were exceptionally low, and actual nitrification rates of the root compartment of non-mycorrhizal P. lanceolata were significantly lower than those of any other compartment. It is then argued that the specific effects should be attributed to the alleged higher growth rates of non-mycorrhizal plants that are known to occur early in the AM experiment. It is concluded that the specific experimental approach is not suitable for the study of microbes with slow growth rates.展开更多
The potential role of soil pH in modulating plant productivity was assessed on the basis of dry mass, harvested in the form of 0.25 m2 quadrats, in two low-productivity upland grasslands of northern Greece subjected t...The potential role of soil pH in modulating plant productivity was assessed on the basis of dry mass, harvested in the form of 0.25 m2 quadrats, in two low-productivity upland grasslands of northern Greece subjected to annual factorial nitrogen （N） and phosphorus （P） fertilization （15 g N m-2 year-1 and 10 g P m-2 year-I） over a minimum period of 3 years. It was hypothesized that under these particular conditions, a positive relationship would exist between soil pH and plant productivity and, further, that N or P fertilizer application of a nutrient limited system, would result in a weakening of this positive relationship. A significant positive relationship was confirmed between soil pH and plant productivity in one of the two study areas and a positive trend in the other. Moreover, plant productivity increase, following fertilization, appeared to have a detrimental effect on the soil pH-plant productivity relationship. Findings support the original hypotheses and strengthen the idea that plant diversity-mediated soil pH-plant productivity relationships are a result of the more intense plant speciation that occurred under the more ＂typical＂ soil conditions of higher pH in temperate as opposed to tropical regions展开更多
基金Supported by a PhD fellowship from the Chloros trust
文摘The vast majority of herbaceous plants engage into arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbioses and consideration of their mycorrhizal status should be embodied in studies of plant-microbe interactions. To establish reliable AM contrasts, however, a sterilized re-inoculation procedure is commonly adopted. It was questioned whether the specific approach is sufficient for the studies targeting the bacterial domain, specifically nitrifiers, a group of autotrophic, slow growing microbes. In a controlled experiment mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal Plantago lanceolata were grown up in compartmentalized pots to study the AM effect on nitrification rates in the plant rhizosphere. Nitrification rates were assayed following an extensive 3-week bacterial equilibration step of the re-inoculated soil and a 13-week plant growth period in a controlled environment. Under these specific conditions, the nitrification potential levels at harvest were exceptionally low, and actual nitrification rates of the root compartment of non-mycorrhizal P. lanceolata were significantly lower than those of any other compartment. It is then argued that the specific effects should be attributed to the alleged higher growth rates of non-mycorrhizal plants that are known to occur early in the AM experiment. It is concluded that the specific experimental approach is not suitable for the study of microbes with slow growth rates.
基金Supported by the Greek National Scholarship Foundation
文摘The potential role of soil pH in modulating plant productivity was assessed on the basis of dry mass, harvested in the form of 0.25 m2 quadrats, in two low-productivity upland grasslands of northern Greece subjected to annual factorial nitrogen （N） and phosphorus （P） fertilization （15 g N m-2 year-1 and 10 g P m-2 year-I） over a minimum period of 3 years. It was hypothesized that under these particular conditions, a positive relationship would exist between soil pH and plant productivity and, further, that N or P fertilizer application of a nutrient limited system, would result in a weakening of this positive relationship. A significant positive relationship was confirmed between soil pH and plant productivity in one of the two study areas and a positive trend in the other. Moreover, plant productivity increase, following fertilization, appeared to have a detrimental effect on the soil pH-plant productivity relationship. Findings support the original hypotheses and strengthen the idea that plant diversity-mediated soil pH-plant productivity relationships are a result of the more intense plant speciation that occurred under the more ＂typical＂ soil conditions of higher pH in temperate as opposed to tropical regions
