Does resource exchange in ectomycorrhizal symbiosis vary with competitive context and nitrogen addition?

Ectomycorrhizal symbiosis is essential for the nutrition of most temperate forest trees and helps regulate the movement of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) through forested ecosystems. The factors governing the exchange of plant C for fungal N, however, remain obscure. Because competition and soil resources may influence ectomycorrhizal resource movement, we performed a 10-month split-root microcosm study using Pinus muricata seedlings with Thelephora terrestris, Suillus pungens, or no ectomycorrhizal fungus, under two N concentrations in artificial soil.