Occurrence of common ectomycorrhizal colonization among eucalyptus and Acacia species

• Grant number: 13/23293-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: March 16, 2014
• End date: August 15, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Applied Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: José Leonardo de Moraes Gonçalves
• Grantee: Ranieri Ribeiro Paula
• Supervisor: Claude Plassard
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), France
• Associated to the scholarship: 11/20510-8 - Processes of N transfer in the short and long-term in mixed-species plantations of Eucalyptus grandis and Acacia mangium, BP.DR

Abstract

The association with ectomycorrhizas increases the ability of plants to get resources for growth from soil and litter. In the last decades, research has shown that ectomycorrhizas can be a route to transfer resources (e.g. Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Carbon) directly among plants. However, the colonization of roots by ectomycorrhizas cannot be generalized because it depends of the compatibility of both plant and fungus partners. The occurrence of colonization of plants by common ectomycorrhizas species has been poorly studied in mixed-species plantations with Eucalyptus and Acacia genus. These species are widely used around the world to produce raw materials and mixing them has been proposed to increase the biomass production, the carbon storage and the quality of organic matter. Various species of ectomycorrhizas have been found in pure and mixed plantations of Eucalyptus and Acacia genus in different countries as in Brazil and Congo. The focus of this project supported by FAPESP will be to add to the current scientific knowledge the occurrence of common colonization of Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus grandis and E. pellita) and Acacia (Acacia mangium and A. spirobis) for more than 25 species of ectomycorrhizas (Scleroderma, Pisolitus, Cenococcum and Tomentella genus) occurring in pure and mixed forest plantations. The experiment in controlled conditions will be conducted at UMR Eco&Sols (Unité Mixte de Recherche - Functional Ecology & Biochemistry of Soils & Agroecosystems) in close collaboration with the UMR LSTM (Laboratoire des Symbioses Tropicales et Méditerranéennes) located in Montpellier, France. In the future these results will help to better understand the ecological relevance of ectomycorrhizas on the transfer of resources between Eucalyptus and Acacia species, and their nutrition from the soil or litter. (AU)