Arbuscular Mycorrhiza and Water and Nutrient Supply Differently Impact Seedling Performance of Acquisitive and Conservative Dry Woodland Species
Abstract
185 words
Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are known to increase
seedling survival and performance through enhancement of
nutrient and water uptake. Acacia etbaica, Acacia senegal
and Boswellia papyrifera dominate large areas in African
drylands. We evaluated the effects of AM, soil and water
availability on their seedling growth. The experiment was
factorial and was set up in a greenhouse with and without
AM, topsoil and subsoil, and four levels of water availability.
AM symbiosis enhanced the acquisition of water and nutrients
and increased gas exchange resulting in increased Acacia and
Boswellia seedling biomass. The rapidly growing Acacias
(acquisitive strategy) showed larger mycorrhizal benefit at
higher water availability. The slowly growing Boswellia
(conservative strategy), in contrast, showed larger mycorrhizal
benefit at lower water availability: with its large coarse root
and only few fine roots Boswellia benefits at low root density
and resource availability as AM enlarges water and nutrient
uptake capacity. This study suggests how acquisitive and
conservative species of dry woodlands may benefit from AM
in different ways and that inclusion of the mycorrhizal habit in
trait-based approaches increases understanding of functional
divergence of coexisting tree species.
Subjects
2 categoriesRelated papers
More in Working Document Series →- Application of SWAT to assess the effects of land use change in the Murchison Bay catchment in Uganda
- Effects of supplementing mesquit (Prosopis juliflora) seedpod meal on the performance of weaner Galla goats in the drylands of Kenya
- Embracing partnership principles in regional and international research collaboration: Theory and practice
- Revisiting application of statistics in agricultural research in Sub-Saharan Africa: entry points for improvement