Seedling establishment near large plants: effects of vesicular- arbuscular mycorrhizas on the intensity of plant competition

Two seedlings of Plantago lanceolata were grown in a narrow vertical layer of sterilized dune sandy soil, either alone or with older P. lanceolata, and with or without vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza. When the test seedlings were 5 wk old, they had more mycorrhizal infection if grown with mycorrhizal large plants than if they were grown alone. Biomass, N content and P content of the seedlings were all reduced to a similar extent by competition with large plants, regardless of whether they were mycorrhizal or not. The principal interactions between large plant and seedling were competitive and the competitive balance was not markedly altered by mycorrhizas. -from Authors