Rodolfo Mendoza

Seasonal variation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in temperate grasslands along a wide hydrologic gradient

We studied seasonal variation in population attributes of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi over 2 years in four sites of temperate grasslands of the Argentinean Flooding Pampas. The sites represent a wide range of soil conditions, hydrologic gradients, and floristic composition. Lotus glaber, a perennial herbaceous legume naturalised in the Flooding Pampas, was dominant at the four plant community sites. Its roots were highly colonised by AM fungi. Temporal variations in spore density, spore type, AM root colonisation, floristic composition and soil chemical characteristics occurred in each site and were different among sites. The duration of flooding had no effect on spore density but depressed AM root colonisation. Eleven different types of spores were recognized and four were identified. Two species dominated at the four sites: Glomus fasciculatum and Glomus intraradices. Spore density was highest in summer (dry season) and lowest in winter (wet season) with intermediate values in autumn and spring. Colonisation of L. glaber roots was highest in summer or spring and lowest in winter or autumn. The relative density of G. fasciculatum and G. intraradices versus Glomus sp. and Acaulospora sp. had distinctive seasonal peaks. These seasonal peaks occurred at all four sites, suggesting differences among AM fungus species with respect to the seasonality of sporulation. Spore density and AM root colonisation when measured at any one time were poorly related to each other. However, spore density was significantly correlated with root colonisation 3 months before, suggesting that high colonisation in one season precedes high sporulation in the next season.

Equations for describing sigmoid yield responses and their application to some phosphate responses by lupins and by subterranean clover

Responses to nutrients are sometimes sigmoid. A series of equations is proposed to describe such curves and to test whether the sigmoid component is significant. These equations are then applied to responses to freshly applied, and to incubated, phosphate by three species of lupin and by subterranean clover. The responses byLupinus angustifolius, and especially by subterranean clover, were sigmoid on a log scale; the response byL. luteus was not significantly sigmoid and the sigmoid component of the response byL. cosentinii was small and only barely significant. The sigmoid response by subterranean clover occured even though it was strongly infected with vesicular arbuscular mycorrhiza.Including the sigmoid component enabled a closer description of the response and therefore a more precise estimation of the effectiveness of the incubated phosphate relative to that of fresh phosphate. This produced increased confidence in the conclusion that there was no statistically significant differences (P < 0.01) in the relative effectiveness of incubated and fresh phosphate amongst the four species of legume.

Plant growth, nutrient acquisition and mycorrhizal symbioses of a waterlogging tolerant legume (Lotus glaber Mill.) in a saline-sodic soil

Seedlings of Lotus glaberMill., were grown in a native saline-sodic soil in a greenhouse for 50 days and then subjected to waterlogging for an additional period of 40 days. The effect of soil waterlogging was evaluated by measuring plant growth allocation, mineral nutrition and soil chemical properties. Rhizobiumnodules and mycorrhizal colonisation in L. glaberroots were measured before and after waterlogging. Compared to control plants, waterlogged plants had decreased root/shoot ratio, lower number of stems per plant, lower specific root length and less allocation of P and N to roots. Waterlogged plants showed increased N and P concentrations in plant tissues, larger root crown diameter and longer internodes. Available N and P and organic P, pH and amorphous iron increased in waterlogged soil, but total N, EC and exchangeable sodium were not changed. Soil waterlogging decreased root length colonised by arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, arbuscular colonisation and number of entry points per unit of root length colonised. Waterlogging also increased vesicle colonisation and Rhizobium nodules on roots. AM fungal spore density was lower at the end of the experiment in non-waterlogged soil but was not reduced under waterlogging. The results indicate that L. glaber can grow, become nodulated by Rhizobium and colonised by mycorrhizas under waterlogged condition. The responses of L. glaber may be related its ability to form aerenchyma.

Deficit and excess of soil water impact on plant growth of Lotus tenuis by affecting nutrient uptake and arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis

The impact of deficit and excess of soil water on plant growth, morphological plant features, N and P plant nutrition, soil properties, Rhizobium nodulation and the symbiosis between arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and Lotus tenuis Waldst. & Kit. were studied in a saline-sodic soil. Water excess treatment decreased root growth by 36% and increased shoot growth by 13% whereas water deficit treatment decreased both root and shoot growth (26 and 32%, respectively). Differences between stress conditions on shoot growth were due to the ability of L. tenuis to tolerate low oxygen concentration in the soil and the sufficiency of nutrients in soil to sustain shoot growth demands. Water excess treatment decreased pH, and increased available P and labile C in soil. Water deficit treatment decreased available P and also increased labile C. In general, N and P acquisition were affected more by water excess than water deficit. The number of nodules per gram of fresh roots only increased in water excess roots (97%). Under both stress conditions there was a significant proportion of roots colonized by AM fungi. Compared to control treatment, arbuscule formation decreased by 55 and 14% under water excess and water deficit, respectively. Vesicle formation increased 256% in water excess treatment and did not change under water deficit treatment. L. tenuis plants subjected to water deficit or excess treatments could grow, nodulated and maintained a symbiotic association with AM fungi by different strategies. Under water excess, L. tenuis plants decreased root growth and increased shoot growth to facilitate water elimination by transpiration. Under water deficit, L. tenuis plants decreased root growth but also shoot growth which in turn significant decreased the shoot/root ratio. In the present study, under water excess conditions AM fungi reduced nutrient transfer structures (arbuscules), the number of entry points and spore, and hyphal densities in soil, but increased resistance structures (vesicles). At water deficit, however, AM fungi reduced external hyphae and arbuscules to some extent, investing more in maintaining a similar proportion of vesicles in roots and spores in soil compared to control treatment.

Influence of phosphorus nutrition on mycorrhizal growth response and morphology of mycorrhizae in Lotus tenuis

Abstract The effect of several rates of phosphorus (P) supply on the forrnatipn of mycorrhizae by indigenous fungi in Lotus tenuis was studied. A greenhouse experiment was conducted for 45 days on a P‐deficient soil fertilized with 0–160 ug P g1 soil. The most prevailing VAM fungus that infected roots was Glomus sp, resembling Glomusfasciculatum. Adding P to me soil influenced the mycorrhizal growth response, the extent of th,e mycorrhizal infection, and the morphological characteristics of the mycorrhizal colonization in roots. Non‐mycorrhizal plants required 1.5 times more added P to obtain the same yield as mycorrhizal plants. Nevertheless, the relationship between the P concentration in shoots and the dry weight of shoots was the same for both mycorrhizal and non‐mycorrhizal plants suggesting that differences in growth reflect differences in the uptake of P rather than its utilization within the plant. The percent of root length infected (HC) and the fraction of infected roots containing arbuscules (A...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and plant symbiosis in a saline-sodic soil

The seasonality of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi–plant symbiosis in Lotus glaber Mill. and Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) O.K. and the association with phosphorus (P) plant nutrition were studied in a saline-sodic soil at the four seasons during a year. Plant roots of both species were densely colonized by AM fungi (90 and 73%, respectively in L. glaber and S. secundatum) at high values of soil pH (9.2) and exchangeable sodium percentage (65%). The percentage of colonized root length differed between species and showed seasonality. The morphology of root colonization had a similar pattern in both species. The arbuscular colonization fraction increased at the beginning of the growing season and was positively associated with increased P concentration in both shoot and root tissue. The vesicular colonization fraction was high in summer when plants suffer from stress imposed by high temperatures and drought periods, and negatively associated with P in plant tissue. Spore and hyphal densities in soil were not associated with AM root colonization and did not show seasonality. Our results suggest that AM fungi can survive and colonize L. glaber and S. secundatum roots adapted to extreme saline-sodic soil condition. The symbiosis responds to seasonality and P uptake by the host altering the morphology of root colonization.

Relationships among soil properties, plant nutrition and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi–plant symbioses in a temperate grassland along hydrologic, saline and sodic gradients

Temporal variations in the relationships among plant nutrient concentrations, soil properties and arbuscular-mycorrhizal (AM) fungal dynamics were studied along a topographic and saline gradient in a temperate grassland soil. Soil and plant (Lotus tenuis, Paspalum vaginatum, Stenotaphrum secundatum) samples were collected on four seasonally based occasions. The morphology of AM root colonization had a similar pattern in the plants studied. Maximum arbuscular colonization occurred at the beginning of the growing season in late winter and was minimal in late summer, but maximal vesicular colonization occurred in summer and was minimal in winter, suggesting a preferential production of these morphological phases by the fungus with respect to season. The greatest arbuscular colonization was associated with the highest N and P concentrations in plant tissue, suggesting a correspondence with increases in the rate of nutrient transfer between the symbiotic partners. Water content, salinity and sodicity in soil were positively associated with AM root colonization and arbuscule colonization in L. tenuis, but negatively so in the grasses. There were distinct seasonally related effects with respect to both spore density and AM colonization, which were independent of particular combinations of plant species and soil sites.

The interaction of heavy metals and nutrients present in soil and native plants with arbuscular mycorrhizae on the riverside in the Matanza-Riachuelo River Basin (Argentina).

This study assessed the contamination by heavy metals (Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn), and nutrients (N, P) in soils and native plants, and the effect of the concentration of those elements with the density of arbuscular-mycorrhizal (AM) spores in soil and colonization in roots from the riverside of the Matanza-Riachuelo River Basin (MRRB). The concentration of metals and nutrients in soils and plants (Eleocharis montana, Cyperus eragrostis, Hydrocotyle bonariensis) increased from the upper sites (8 km from headwaters) to the lower sites (6 km from the mouth of the Riachuelo River) of the basin. AM-colonization on the roots of H. bonariensis and spore density in soil decreased as the concentrations of metals in soil and plant tissues increased from the upper to lower sites of the basin within a consistent gradient of contamination associated with land use, soil disturbance, population, and chemicals discharged into the streams and rivers along the MRRB. The general trends for all metals in plant tissue were to have highest concentrations in roots, then in rhizomes and lowest in aerial biomass. The translocation (TF) and bioconcentration (BCF) factors decreased in plants which grow from the upper sites to the lower sites of the basin. The plants tolerated a wide range in type and quantity of contamination along the basin by concentrating more metals and nutrients in roots than in aboveground tissue. The AM spore density in soil and colonization in roots of H. bonariensis decreased with the increase of the degree of contamination (Dc) in soil.

PHOSPHORUS NUTRITION AND MYCORRHIZAL GROWTH RESPONSE OF BROADLEAF AND NARROWLEAF BIRDSFOOT TREFOILS

In Argentina narrowleaf trefoil (Lotus glaber) predominates over broadleaf trefoil (Lotus corniculatus). Researchers have suggested this predominance occurs because L. glaber grows better at low levels of P availability. I studied the effect of increasing phosphorus (P) nutrition and mycorrhizal growth response of Lotus corniculatus and Lotus glaber in a soil of low available P. L. corniculatus was more efficient in P utilization than L. glaber and produced larger yields of shoot tissue per unit of P. The critical P concentration, measured as a percentage of P in the shoot required to achieve 90% of maximum shoot yield, was 0.22 in L. corniculatus and 0.28 in L. glaber. The roots of both two species were heavily infected by arbuscular micorrhizae (AM), and both mycorrhizal and nonmycorrhizal plants responded strongly to added P in soil. This suggests that both species are at no advantage or disadvantage whether mycorrhizal or nonmicorrhizal. The fraction of roots colonized by AM fungi differed between species at low levels of added P but was similar at high levels of added P. The specific root length (cm g−1) of mycorrhizal plants was greatest in L. corniculatus when P was insufficient to achieve maximum growth. The lower critical P concentration and the higher specific root length at low levels of P nutrition may be why L. corniculatus is superior to L. glaber in soils low in P. Therefore, the predominance of L. glaber compared with L. corniculatus in Argentinean soils is not due to ability of L. glaber to grow better in soil at low levels of P availability.

Phosphorus effectiveness in fertilized soils evaluated by chemical solutions and residual value for wheat growth

Nineteen soils from the south east of the Province of Buenos Aires (Argentina) that had been fertilized with moderate amounts of P (10–40 kgP/ha) during the last 10 years were used to investigate the effect of time on the decline of P availability as measured by three soil tests (Bray 1, Bray 2, Olsen) and the null-point method. Differences in rates of P decline among soils and chemical methods were characterized by an exponential coefficient for time (b2) in equations which describe the changes of the added P retained by the soil (Pr =acb1tb2). The rate of decline of P for the nineteen soils calculated for the soil test methods was ordered decreasingly as: null-point > Olsen > Bray 1 > Bray 2. The ability of the chemical methods for assessing the residual value of P for wheat growth (RV) was tested in a pot experiment on seven of the soils that differed in their individual rates of reaction with P. Differences between soils in the rate of reaction with P as measured in the laboratory by the null-point method and by the Olsen test were reflected in different residual values for P fertilizer for wheat plants. Thus the value ofb2 for these methods was well correlated with the observed residual values. The soil properties commonly associated with the retention of P were not related to the value ofb2 suggesting that more than one soil property may be involved in the measure ofb2. The exponent for timeb2 may be used as an index of the ability of the soil test to reflect the decline of P availability with time.