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The mycorrhizal association: just one of many nutrient acquiring specializations in natural ecosystems

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Abstract

This paper examines the general biology of mycorrhizal associations alongside the wide range of alternative trophic adaptations which higher plants may employ when competing for limited resources of specific nutrients within an ecosystem. All examples described come from highly nutrient-impoverished heathlands or open woodlands of the kwongan of southwest Australia. An account is given of the general patterns of rooting morphology and their association with various mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal nutrient-acquiring strategies, including various forms of parasitism, epiparasitism, autotrophy with or without mycorrhizal association. Taxonomic affinities of each grouping are examined alongside growth and life form characteristics.

A case study of patterns of utilization of a specific nutrient, nitrogen in a Banksia woodland ecosystem is presented to illustrate how a multifaceted approach can be used for studying species responses and interactions. The study categorizes species according to nitrate-utilizing ability and suggests how 15N natural abundance of soil and plant components and organic solutes of nitrogen is xylem might be utilized to separate species into different trophic categories. Response of the ecosystem to fire is examined in respect of the nutritional interrelationships of component species as the ecosystem changes from being nitrate dominant immediately after fire to increasingly ammonium-producing thereafter.

The paper concludes by examining generally trophic relationships within whole ecosystems and outlines some of the challenges for future research in this connection.

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  1. Botany Department, University of Western Australia, 6009, Nedlands, WA, Australia

    J. S. Pate

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Pate, J.S. The mycorrhizal association: just one of many nutrient acquiring specializations in natural ecosystems. Plant Soil 159, 1–10 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00000090

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