Abstract
Aims
The role of different soil types for beech productivity and drought sensitivity is unknown. The aim of this experimental study was to compare mycorrhizal diversity between acid sandy and calcareous soils and to investigate how this diversity affects tree performance, nitrogen uptake and use efficiency (NUE).
Methods
Beech trees were germinated and grown in five different soil types (pH 3.8 to 6.7). One-and-a-half-year-old plants were exposed for 6 weeks to sufficient or low soil humidity. Tree biomass, root tip mycorrhizal colonization and community structure, root tip mortality, leaf area, photosynthesis, nitrogen concentrations, NUE and short-term 15N uptake from glutamine were determined.
Results
Soil type did not affect photosynthesis or biomass formation, with one exception in calcareous soil, where root mortality was higher than in the other soil types. Beech in acid soils showed lower mycorrhizal colonization, higher nitrogen tissue concentrations, and lower NUE than those in calcareous soils. Drought had no effect on nitrogen concentrations or NUE but caused reductions in mycorrhizal colonization. Mycorrhizal species richness correlated with nitrogen uptake and NUE. Nitrogen uptake was more sensitive to drought in calcareous soils than in acid soils.
Conclusions
Beech may be more drought-susceptible on calcareous sites because of stronger decrease of organic nitrogen uptake than on acid soils.
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Abbreviations
- EM:
-
ectomycorrhizal
- N:
-
nitrogen
- NUE:
-
nitrogen use efficiency
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Acknowledgments
We are grateful to M. Smiatacz and to T. Klein (Laboratory for Radio-Isotopes, Universität Göttingen) for plant maintenance and excellent technical support. We thank Dr. R. Pena for critical reading and comments on the manuscript. Soil nutrients were determined in the Central Laboratory of the Department for Ökopedologie der gemäßigten Zonen (Büsgen Institut, Universität Göttingen). 15N analyses were conducted in the Kompetenzzentrum für Stabile Isotope (KOSI) (Universität Göttingen) under the supervision of Dr. J. Dyckmans. The research was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Po362/19-1) and partly by the DFG Priority Program 1374 “Infrastructure-Biodiversity-Exploratories” (Po362/18-3). J. T. acknowledges a postdoctoral fellowship awarded by the Chinese Science Council (CSC).
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Leberecht, M., Tu, J. & Polle, A. Acid and calcareous soils affect nitrogen nutrition and organic nitrogen uptake by beech seedlings (Fagus sylvatica L.) under drought, and their ectomycorrhizal community structure. Plant Soil 409, 143–157 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-016-2956-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-016-2956-4