The presence of mycorrhiza in different habitats of an intermittent aquatic ecosystem

Abstract

Environmental conditions in wetlands were long thought to suppress mycorrhizal fungi and it has been assumed that mycorrhiza in wetlands is limited and is of little significance. This contribution summarises the presence of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and dark-septate endophytes (DSE) in different habitats of the intermittent Lake Cerknica. Mycorrhizal colonisation of wetland plants from the following wetland habitats was analysed: (1) frequently inundated small depressions in the lakebed colonised by amphibious plants; (2) P. australis stands covering large parts of the lake area; and (3) wet meadows surrounding the lake area colonised by different Schoenus species. All of the examined amphibious species were found to be mycorrhizal, however terrestrial shoots were more mycorrhizal than aquatic shoots. In the former mycorrhizal frequency F% was up to 100% and mycorrhizal intensity M% up to 67%, while F% was up to 80% and M% up to 16% in the latter. Mycorrhizal colonisation of P. australis with AM and DSE fungi was confirmed in plants growing in different soils and water regimes (17% < F% < 50%; 0.6% < M% < 3%). In the two Schoenus species, F% was up to 99% and M% was up to 14%. According to the literature this is the first detailed report on the presence of AM and DSE mycorrhiza in S. ferrugineus and S. nigricans. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.