Ectomycorrhizal fungal biomass in roots and uptake of P from apatite by Pinus sylvestris seedlings growing in forest soil with and without wood ash amendment.

Forest soil from an experimental Norway spruce forest with four levels of wood ash addition (0, 1, 3 and 6 tonnes ha(-1)) was used to inoculate pine (Pinus sylvestris) seedlings with indigenous ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi. Uptake of 32P and 86Rb in a root bioassay was used to estimate the demand for P and K by seedlings grown in the different soils. Utilisation of P from apatite was tested in a laboratory system where uptake by the ectomycorrhizal mycelium was separated from uptake by roots.

Production, standing biomass and natural abundance of 15N and 13C in ectomycorrhizal mycelia collected at different soil depths in two forest types.

Nutrient uptake by forest trees is dependent on ectomycorrhizal (EM) mycelia that grow out into the soil from the mycorrhizal root tips. We estimated the production of EM mycelia in root free samples of pure spruce and mixed spruce-oak stands in southern Sweden as mycelia grown into sand-filled mesh bags placed at three different soil depths (0-10, 10-20 and 20-30 cm). The mesh bags were collected after 12 months and we found that 590+/-70 kg ha(-1) year(-1) of pure mycelia was produced in spruce stands and 420+/-160 kg ha(-1) year(-1) in mixed stands.

Acidification-induced chemical changes in coniferous forest soils in southern Sweden 1988-1999.

Thirty-two Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.] and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.