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Abstract Detail



Symbioses: Plant, Animal, and Microbe Interactions

DeVan, Megan Rae [1], Taylor, D. Lee [2].

Fungi, Fire, and the Changing Boreal Forest.

Soil microbes have indisputably strong influences on ecosystem properties and functions, and likely serve as biological filters during recolonization of aboveground vegetation following forest fires. There are only 6 species of trees native to interior Alaska, and all are dependent on ectomycorrhizal fungi. Black spruce is the most abundant tree species in interior Alaska, and has historically undergone self-replacement after fire. However, severe fires, which are becoming more frequent under warmer and drier conditions, favor dominance of deciduous species such as paper birch and aspen over black spruce. Various types of mycorrhizae (ecto-, endo-, arbutoid, etc.) confer a spectrum of benefits to host plants, which can be further divided by plant-fungal species combinations; however, few of these relationships have been elucidated, especially in the field. In 2005 native seedlings (P. mariana, P. glauca, P. tremuloides, B. neoalaskana) and non-native P. contorta were outplanted at sites established in 2004 following the largest burn year on record in Interior Alaska. Aboveground biomass and roots were simultaneously harvested in 2011 & 2013. Data were collected on wet and dry biomass, basal diameter, diameter breast height, height, new wood, old wood, and foliar nutrient concentrations. Over 10,000 colonized root tips have been subsampled from the 1200 seedlings and are currently undergoing DNA extraction, PCR, and ITS sequencing. Here we present preliminary results on the composition of EMF communities on these seedlings as a function of host species and fire severity.


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1 - University of New Mexico, Biology , Msc03 2020, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, Nm, 87131, USA
2 - University of New Mexico, Biology, Msc03 2020, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, Nm, 87131, United States

Keywords:
mycorrhizal networks
fire
boreal forest
succession.

Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Topics
Session: P
Location: Hall D/The Shaw Conference Centre
Date: Monday, July 27th, 2015
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PSB007
Abstract ID:505
Candidate for Awards:None


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