Pioneer Tree (Melastomataceae) from Central Amazon with Seedlings Highly Dependent on Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi.

is one of the most abundant pioneer tree species in anthropized areas of the Central Amazon, and has ecological importance for the environmental resilience of phosphorus (P)-depleted areas. Thus, we investigated whether depends on symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) to grow and establish under the edaphic stresses of low nutrient content and low surface moisture retention capacity of the substrate. We tried three AMF inoculation treatments: (1) CON-no mycorrhizae; (2) MIX-with AMF from pure collection cultures, and (3) NAT-with native AMF, combined with five doses of P via a nutrient solution.