Charcoal Stimulates Ectomycorrhizal Fungal Association with Pine.

Soils from adjacent sites, burnt in 1968 and 2003, in Whitebark pine habitat, were sampled and characterized for black carbon content. Ectomycorrhizal fungi are naturally present at these sites and symbioses between pine and ectomycorrhizal fungi have been shown to increase seedling survival. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that charcoal in soil stimulates ectomycorrhizal root tip colonization by acting as a binding surface for plant and fungal signaling molecules, thereby increasing their retention and detection time in the soil matrix. Jack Pine (Pinus banksiana) and Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) were grown in microcosms in a growth cabinet to test this hypothesis. Pine seeds were germinated on 110 mm petri plates on sterile MMN media with/without charcoal inclusion. Plates were inoculated with ectomycorrhizal partner, Suillus tomentosus. The objectives of this study were 1) to investigate the effect of charcoal on the extent of ectomycorrhizal association with pine root tips, and 2) to observe with compound microscopy the formation of an intercellular hyphal network structure in the pine root tip. Development of ectomycorrhizas in microcosms was followed for 60 days from pine seed germination to investigate the rate of early root development and fungal symbiosis establishment in the presence of charcoal. This work was undertaken in collaboration with Parks Canada. 

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