Evidence of species interactions within an ectomycorrhizal fungal community

Roger T. Koide, Bing Xu, Jori Sharda, Ylva Lekberg, Nancy Ostiguy

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

115 Scopus citations

Abstract

Ectomycorrhizal fungal communities can be structured by abiotic and biotic factors. Here, we present evidence for community structuring by species interactions. We sampled ectomycorrhizas and forest floor seven times during a 13-month period. The presence of various ectomycorrhizal fungal species was determined for each sample, and species co-occurrence analyses were performed. For both ectomycorrhizas and forest floor samples there was significantly less co-occurrence among species within the community than expected by chance, mostly because of negative associations involving Cenococcum geophilum or Clavulina cinerea. For some species pairs, there was significantly more co-occurrence than expected by chance. Both nitrogen and tannin additions to the forest floor altered some interactions among species. The causes of these nonrandom distributions are currently unknown. Future investigations on competition, antibiosis, parasitism and facilitation among ectomycorrhizal fungal species appear to be warranted.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)305-316
Number of pages12
JournalNew Phytologist
Volume165
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2005

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Physiology
  • Plant Science

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