Summary
To determine the relative responsiveness to and dependency on vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM) of annual and perennial plants, this study compared the responses of congeneric, sympatric pairs of species in the grass genera Panicum and Bromus to inoculation with two VAM fungal isolates from the genus Glomus. When inoculated with G. intraradices, the perennials P. virgatum and B. inermus showed significantly greater response at both high and low phosphorus (P) than did the annuals P. capillare and B. secalinus. Responsiveness of perennials was significant at both P levels, whereas annuals responded significantly only at low P. Neither Bromus species responded strongly to inoculation with G. etunicatum. Overall, the perennial grasses were more responsive and dependent than were the annuals. A survey of 26 studies including 84 plant-VAM fungus combinations yielded similar patterns of responsiveness in relation to P level and plant life span, especially for grasses. The greater responsiveness of perennial grasses to VAM infection must be considered within the suite of life history traits used to erect hypotheses concerning successional replacement of annuals by perennials in graminoid-dominated ecosystems.
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Boerner, R.E.J. Plant life span and response to inoculation with vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Mycorrhiza 1, 153–161 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00203289
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00203289