Patterns of arbuscular mycorrhiza colonisation of the roots of Hyacinthoides non-scripta after disruption of soil mycelium

Abstract:  Early-season colonisation of new roots of Hyacinthoides non-scripta (L.) Chouard ex Rothm. was investigated to determine how arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis is re-established after the annual root system is shed. During the rootless phase in summer, colonies of bulbs were removed and replanted after the soil around and below the bulb had been mixed (major disturbance) so as to disrupt the external mycelium of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. As a minor disturbance treatment, top soil was removed, bulbs were turned or not in their growth position with as little other disturbance as possible, and the top soil replaced. Control plants were left undisturbed. Half of the plants were harvested 3–4 weeks after the onset of root emergence. Populations of all AM fungi in roots were greatly reduced by major disturbance, whilst those in other treatments and controls were unaffected. At the second harvest, in spring, when shoots had emerged, root colonisation by fine endophytes and Scutellospora morphotypes developed in all treatments, whereas that of Acaulospora morphotypes remained low after major disturbance. Disturbance treatments delayed the appearance, at the second harvest, of mycorrhizas with degenerate arbuscules. Leaf phosphorus concentration was unaffected by soil disturbance, possibly due to partial recovery of AM fungal populations or buffering by resources stored in the bulb.