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Mycorrhizal relationships with plant diversity and
elevated CO2
conditions
DHILLION, SHIVCHARN
invited speaker
organized by Nancy Johnson
Department of Biology and Nature Conservation, Agricultural University of Norway (NLH), PB 5014, Aas, N-1432, Norway
ICOM1 Abstract
There is a increasing interest in the importance of diversity in the
functioning of microbial and plant communities. Recent studies show that
microbially-mediated soil processes (e.g., enzyme activities, microbial
substrate utilization and nutrient cycling) are linked to plant
diversity, and inturn, plant diversity may be linked to the mycorrhizal
species within the system because plant species vary in their
mycotrophy. Furthermore, microbially-mediated soil processes may be
modified by elevated CO2 conditions. Studies manipulating plant
functional groups (e.g. grasses, legumes, composites, annuals and
perennials) show that functional groups influence microbially mediated
processes, especially nutrient cycling, and thus emphasize the role of
mycorrhizas. This paper addresses the following questions: Can
differences in the the overall mycotrophic nature of communities
influence processes associated with plant diversity? Do changes in CO2
levels influence species responses within plant communities? It
highlights the inter specific role of plant species, and groups of
plants, which may determine the impact of mycorrhizas in plant
communities, and stresses the need for evaluating microbially-mediated
soil processes parallel to those of mycorrhizae and to those associated
with plant diversity.