Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the ecological implications of mycorrhizal associations in natural ecosystems and the role of soil or environmental factors, mycorrhizal fungus characteristics or host plant properties. Mycorrhizal associations are regulated by features of the host plant and mycorrhizal fungus, as well as by soil conditions and environmental factors. Factors which can influence the occurrence and effectiveness of mycorrhizal associations include (1) root properties (2) edaphic or climatic factors (3) soil organisms, (4) soil disturbance, and (5) host-fungus compatibility. Several other complex ecological topics also discussed in the chapter include (1) mycorrhizal phenology , (2) factors responsible for varying degrees of mycorrhizal dependency in host plants, (3) the role of mycorrhizal hyphae in soil (4) nutrient competition involving mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal plants, and (5) mycorrhizal interactions involving pollution and other stresses, the rhizosphere, soil properties and allelopathy. Finally, the chapter also discusses the population ecology of mycorrhizal fungi and the influence of their associations on plant population ecology.

Mycorrhizas in Natural Ecosystems

Natural disturbances such as lava flows, landslides and glacial moraines, and human-damaged sites such as pavement, road edges and mine wastes often leave little or no soil or biological legacy. This 2003 book provided the first comprehensive summary of how plant, animal and microbial communities develop under the harsh conditions following such dramatic disturbances. The authors examine the basic principles that determine ecosystem development and apply the general rules to the urgent practical need for promoting the reclamation of damaged lands. Written for ecologists concerned with disturbance, landscape dynamics, restoration, life histories, invasions, modeling, soil formation and community or population dynamics, this book will also serve as an authoritative text for graduate students and a valuable reference for professionals involved in land management.

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Primary Succession and Ecosystem Rehabilitation

Ecological processes and plant adaptations on coastal dunes

A survey of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM), and hyphal networks of AMF was carried out in sand dune sites of different successional stages in the Province Lands Area of Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts. The study focused on large-scale plantings (each of 12-20 ha) of American beachgrass (Ammophila breviligulata) aged 0-7 yr and five adjacent natural dune areas. Sample sites ranged in vegetative cover from barren to forested. Spores of 17 species of AMF were recovered from the dunes. Over the successional sequence, there were increases in the richness and spore populations of the AMF community, the extent of colonization of A. breviligulata roots, and the mycorrhizal inoculum potential of the soil. Unvegetated sites lacked propagules of AMF, but roots of planted culms of A. breviligulata (which carried propagules of AMF) became mycorrhizal in <1 yr after planting. Spores were recovered from previously AMF-free sites that had been planted with beachgrass for 47 wk, and five species of AMF sporulated in sites <6 yr old. Significant hyphal networks were not present in any of the planted areas (<6 yr old at the time of sampling), but did occur in natural areas. The rate of invasion of areas planted to A. breviligulata by later successional plant species may in part depend upon the establishment of a vigorous network of hyphae of AMF in a site.

Mycorrhizae and succession in plantings of beachgrass in sand dunes

The ant fauna of 12 sand-mined plots representing a range of rehabilitation ages and three undisturbed vegetation controls was surveyed during 1982. Physical and botanical parameters were also measured in each plot.



Sixty-four ant species were collected from the 15 study plots, of which 44 had colonized one or more of the mined plots. Ant recolonization proceeded rapidly in plots up to 6 years old and may have been influenced by the passage of time, plant cover, density and diversity variables, the amount of litter and by the paucity of logs. In terms of ant species composition, the mined plots were most different from the undisturbed areas. The older plots exhibited a lower ant species richness and this is believed to have resulted from interspecific competition with the tramp ant, Pheidole megacephala. Ant succession proceeded in a slower fashion in the plots dominated by P megacephala.



The influence of ants on seeds applied during broadcast seeding of rehabilitated areas was also investigated. Seed removal by ants was greatest for the arillate seeds of Acacia concurrens but moderate quantities of Allocasuarina spp., Eucalyptus spp. Xanthorrhoea sp. and Banksia spp. were taken also.



Seed removal by ants was low in the areas which had recently had topsoil applied except where ants foraged from adjacent rehabilitation areas; here they exerted their influence up to 50 m across the fresh topsoil. Seed removal rates in topsoil adjacent to forest were low. Removal rates in a revegetated area 2.5 years old approached those in forest. This indicates that the previous ant-seed relationship had been partially restored by this time, although the relative contribution of seed harvesters and elaiosome collectors still needs to be assessed.

/pdf/recolonization-by-ants-of-rehabilitated-mineral-sand-mines-1nyxf5ljv7.pdf

Recolonization by ants of rehabilitated mineral sand mines on North Stradbroke Island, Queensland, with particular reference to seed removal

Soil, fungi, including species forming endomycorrhizae, appear to be important to pioneer plants colonizing coastal sand-dunes in the subtropics. In three mobile dunes at Cooloola, Queensland, networks of fungal hyphae were very common in the surface 0-20 cm of bare sand of the colonizing zones. These networks, consisting of long threads of hyphae, extend out into the bare sands from the roots of pioneer seedlings, most of which are endomycorrhizal. The fungi intermesh sand-grains to form aggregates which appear to be an important factor in stabilizing these loose sands.



The sands are dominantly quartz grains partly covered by thin sesquioxide coatings which contain some phosphorus. Phosphorus held by sesquioxide is generally regarded as being unavailable to most plants. However, the close attachment of hyphae to these coatings, the lack of alternative sources of phosphorus and the prominence of endomycorrhizal fungi are consistent with these fungi obtaining phosphorus from these surfaces. These fungi appear to be important in plant colonization of these dunes and could have appliction in revegetaton of disturbed areas.

Endomycorrhizae in plant colonization on coastal sand-dunes at Cooloola, Queensland

The Mulloon Rehydration Initiative is a case study highlighting the challenges of integrating research into a catchment scale land-repair project involving multiple landowners and partners. Starting with an innovative project in 2006 to install ‘leaky weirs’ on a single property, the project has now expanded to include stream rehabilitation works on 16 properties and aims to cover an area of 23,000 ha of the Mulloon Creek, NSW and its main tributaries. Here, we describe the establishment phase of the project and the design of its monitoring framework. 

The Mulloon Rehydration Initiative: The project’s establishment and monitoring framework

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Endomycorrhizae in plant colonization on coastal sand-dunes at Cooloola, Queensland

The Mulloon Rehydration Initiative: The project’s establishment and monitoring framework