Summary
The mycorrhizal activity of spruce in a mixed-wood forest was monitored over 1 year by measuring biochemical characters in fine roots of six canopy trees and of a regrowth stand. The concentration of adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP), a measure of living biomass, showed two peaks per year, one at bud break and one after main shoot growth. The concentration of storage polysaccharides in mycorrhizae showed the same cycles even more pronouncedly. It is proposed that these changes reflect growth and senescence of mycorrhizae and that the timing of the cycles is controlled by translocation of assimilates from the shoot. Differences between mycorrhizae collected from canopy trees and the regrowth stand were small and not significant. Characters known to be related to fungal activity of the mycorrhizal symbiosis (concentration of trehalose, glucose uptake, respiration) also varied little among the six canopy trees. Large differences among fine-root samples from different canopy trees, however, were detected in the concentrations of ATP and storage polysaccharides, measures which seemed to be physiologically integrated within trees. If low concentrations in roots precede losses of foliage from trees, these two symptoms could be used as early indicators of growth decline in individual spruce trees.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Beutler HO (1984) Starch. In: Bergmeyer HU (ed) Methods of enzymatic analysis, vol 6, 3rd edn; Verlag Chemie, Weinheim, pp 2–10
Cochran WG, Cox GM (1957) Experimental design, 2nd edn. Wiley, New York
Cohen J (1977) Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Academic Press, New York
Ericsson A, Persson H (1980) Seasonal changes in starch reserves and growth of fine roots of 20-year-old Scot's pines. Ecol Bull 32: 239–250
Fairley RI, Alexander IJ (1985) Methods of calculating fine root production in forests. In: Fitter AH (ed) Ecological interactions in soil. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 37–42
Göttsche D (1972) Verteilung von Feinwurzeln und Mycorrhizen im Bodenprofil eines Buchen- und eines Fichtenbestandes im Soiling. Mitt Bundesforschungsanst ForstHolzwirtschaft 88: 1–102
Harley JL, Smith SE (1983) Mycorrhizal symbiosis. Academic Press, London
Harper JL (1985) Modules, branches, and the capture of resources. In: Jackson JBC, Buss LW, Cook RE (eds) Population biology of clonal organisms. Yale University Press, New Haven, pp 1–33
Haug I, Kottke I, Oberwinkler F (1986) Licht- und elektronenmikroskopische Untersuchungen von Mykorrhizen der Fichte (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) in Vertikalprofilen. Z Mykol 52: 373–391
Herbert D, Phipps PJ, Strange RE (1971) Chemical analysis of microbial cells. In: Norris JR, Ribbons DW (eds) Methods in microbiology, vol 5B. Academic Press, New York, pp 266–273
Hottiger T, Boller T, Wiemken A (1987) Rapid changes of heat desiccation tolerance correlated with changes of trehalose content inSaccharomyces cerevisiae cells subjected to temperature shifts. FEBS Lett 220: 113–115
Keller T (1979) Der Einfluß langdauernder SO2-Begasung auf das Wurzelwachstum der Fichte. Schweiz Z Forstwes 130: 429–435
Klaus R (1979) Quantitative DC-Analyse von Zuckern, Zukkersäuren und Polyalkoholen. Kontakte (Merck) 3: 24
Köstler JN, Brückner E, Bibelriether H (eds) (1968) Die Wurzeln der Waldbäume. Parey, Hamburg
Kottke I, Agerer R (1983) Untersuchungen zur Bedeutung der Mykorrhiza in älteren Laub- und Nadelwaldbeständen des Südwestdeutschen Keuperberglandes. Mitt Verein Forstl Standortskd Forstpfl 30: 30–39
Krüger KW, Trappe JM (1967) Food reserves and seasonal growth of Douglas-fir seedlings. For Sci 13: 192–202
Lechowicz MJ (1987) Resource allocation by plants under air pollution stress: Implications for plant- pest-pathogen interactions. Bot Rev 53: 281–300
Lewis DH, Harley JL (1965) Carbohydrate physiology of mycorrhizal roots of beech. I. Identity of endogenous sugars and utilization of exogenous sugars. New Phytol 64: 224–237
Loach K, Little CHA (1973) Production, storage, and use of photosynthate during shoot elongation in balsam fir (Abies balsamea). Can J Bot 51: 1161–1168
Lundin A (1984) Extraction and automatic luminometric assay of ATP, ADP and AMP. In: Kricka J, Stanley PE, Thorpe GHG, Whitehead TP (eds) Analytical applications of bioluminescence and chemiluminescence. Academic Press, London, pp 491–501
Mahrer F (1987) Ergebnisse der terrestrischen Waldschadeninventur. Schweiz Z Forstwes 138: 1–20
Marshall JD, Waring RH (1985) Predicting fine root production and turnover by monitoring root starch and soil temperature. Can J For Res 15: 791–800
Meyer FH (1987) The ramification index, an indicator for damage to the fine-root system of declining forest. Forstwiss Centralbl 106: 84–92
Oren R, Schulze ED, Werk KS, Meyer J, Schneider BU, Heilmeier H (1988) Performance of twoPicea abies (L.) Karst. stands at different stages of decline. I. Carbon relations and stand growth. Oecologia 75: 25–37
Payne CD (1985) The generalized linear interactive modelling system. NAG, Oxford
Ritter T, Kottke I, Oberwinkler F (1986) Nachweis der Vitalität von Ektomykorrhizen. Biol unserer Zeit 16: 179–185
Saglio PH, Raymond P, Pradet A (1983) Oxygen transport and root respiration of maize seedlings. A quantitative approach using the correlation between ATP/ADP and the respiration rate controlled by oxygen tension. Plant Physiol 72: 1035–1039
Santantonio D (1978) Seasonal dynamics of fine roots in mature stands of Douglas-fir of different water regimes. A preliminary report. In: Riedacker A, Gagnaire-Michard J (eds) Proceedings IUFRO Symposium on root physiology and symbiosis. CNRF, Nancy-Champenoux, pp 190–203
Schweers W, Meyer FH (1970) Einfluß der Mykorrhiza auf den Transport von Assimilaten in die Wurzel. Ber Dtsch Bot Ges 83: 109–119
Schweizerischer Nationalfonds (ed) (1988) Waldschäden und Luftverschmutzung in der Schweiz. Die Forschungsschwerpunkte auf den Testflächen an der Lägeren, im Alptal und bei Davos. Nationales Forschungsprogramm 14+, Bern
Smith JL, Paul EA (1988) Use of an in situ labeling technique for the determination of seasonal14C distribution in Ponderosa pine. Plant Soil 106: 221–229
Snedecor GW, Cochran WG (1980) Statistical methods, 7th edn. Iowa State University Press, Ames
Van den Driessche R (1978) Seasonal changes in root growth capacity and carbohydrates in red pine and white spruce nursery seedlings. In: Riedacker A, Gagnaire-Michard J (eds) Proceedings IUFRO Symposium on root physiology and symbiosis. CNRF, Nancy-Champenoux, pp 6–19
Van Praag HJ, Sougnez-Remy S, Weissen F, Carletti G (1988) Root turnover in a beech and a spruce stand of the Belgian Ardennes. Plant Soil 105: 87–103
Vogt KA, Vogt DJ, Moore EE, Littke W, Grier CC, Leney L (1985) Estimating Douglas-fir fine root biomass and production from living bark and starch Can J For Res 15: 177–179
Vogt KA, Vogt DJ, Moore EE, Fatuga BA, Redlin MR, Edmonds RL (1987) Conifer and angiosperm fine-root biomass in relation to stand age and site productivity in Douglas-fir forests. J Ecol 75: 857–870
Wieser U, Pankow W, Wiemken A (1986) The adenylate energy charge of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza of onions (Allium cepa L.). J Plant Physiol 124: 181–186
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pankow, W., Niederer, M., Wieser, U. et al. Biochemical symptoms of stress in the mycorrhizal roots of Norway spruce (Picea abies). Trees 3, 65–72 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01021068
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01021068