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The ectomycorrhizal flora of primary and secondary stands of Pinus sylvestris in relation to soil conditions and ectomycorrhizal succession

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Biodiversity and Ecology
BAAR, JACQUELINE
Biological Station of the Wageningen Agricultural University, Kampsweg 27, 9418 PD Wijster, The Netherlands
Present address: Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming 82071-3166, U.S.A.

ICOM1 Abstract
Ectomycorrhizal species composition and sporocarp abundance in two 15-20-year-old primary stands of Pinus sylvestris in the central part of The Netherlands were compared with those in two 16- and 27-year-old seconda-ry stands of P. sylvestris in the northeastern part of The Nether-lands. The trees of the primary stands were spontaneously seeded in a drift sand area. Only thin (< 4 cm) litter and humus layers were present. The trees of the 16-year-old secondary stand were planted on podsolic sandy soil and those of the 27-year-old stand on non-podsolic sandy soil. In both secondary stands, thick (4-10 cm) litter and humus layers had been developed. The litter and humus partly originated from former stands at the same sites, partly from the present stands. In the secondary stands, the thick litter and humus layers and understory vegetation were remo-ved ("sod-cutting") in order to simulate the thin litter and humus layers in the primary stands. Untreated plots served as controls. Surveys conducted in 1991, 1992 and 1993 indicated that sod-cut-ting enhanced abundance and diversity of ectomy-corrhizal fungi; however, the species richness and diversity in the sod-cut plots did not reach those in the prima-ry stand plots. High species richness and diversity were associated with low concentrations of nitrogen and relatively high pH values in the litter and humus layers and mineral soil. These results suggest that sod-cutting may be beneficial in restoring ectomycorrhizal flora in Scots pine stands.