This site has just undergone scheduled maintenance in order to be moved to a new infrastructure. You shouldn’t experience any change, but do let us know (datacentre@scilifelab.se) if you think anything looks out of place.

Ectomycorrhizal fungi are more sensitive to high soil nitrogen levels in forests exposed to nitrogen deposition.

Jörgensen K, Clemmensen KE, Wallander H, Lindahl BD

New Phytol. 242 (4) 1725-1738 [2024-05-00; online 2024-01-11]

Ectomycorrhizal fungi are essential for nitrogen (N) cycling in many temperate forests and responsive to anthropogenic N addition, which generally decreases host carbon (C) allocation to the fungi. In the boreal region, however, ectomycorrhizal fungal biomass has been found to correlate positively with soil N availability. Still, responses to anthropogenic N input, for instance through atmospheric deposition, are commonly negative. To elucidate whether variation in N supply affects ectomycorrhizal fungi differently depending on geographical context, we investigated ectomycorrhizal fungal communities along fertility gradients located in two nemo-boreal forest regions with similar ranges in soil N : C ratios and inorganic N availability but contrasting rates of N deposition. Ectomycorrhizal biomass and community composition remained relatively stable across the N gradient with low atmospheric N deposition, but biomass decreased and the community changed more drastically with increasing N availability in the gradient subjected to higher rates of N deposition. Moreover, potential activities of enzymes involved in ectomycorrhizal mobilisation of organic N decreased as N availability increased. In forests with low external input, we propose that stabilising feedbacks in tree-fungal interactions maintain ectomycorrhizal fungal biomass and communities even in N-rich soils. By contrast, anthropogenic N input seems to impair ectomycorrhizal functions.

NGI Long read [Service]

NGI Uppsala (Uppsala Genome Center) [Service]

National Genomics Infrastructure [Service]

PubMed 38213001

DOI 10.1111/nph.19509

Crossref 10.1111/nph.19509


Publications 9.5.1