A new paper is out with Ines Ibáñez along with Zak lab collaborators that delves into questions about the true relationship for mycorrhizal fungal relationships with plants and how nitrogen availability affected their behavior. This study looked at growth data in mature trees for two different maple species and one oak species, AMF and EMF-associated, respectively, across a gradient of nitrogen availability. Using this data, we studied the association with specific mycorrhizal taxa to determine whether they had positive, neutral or negative associations with tree growth. As these associations my contribute to how plants respond to future warming conditions, increase N deposition and increased carbon dioxide, it is critical to generate quantifiable data regarding tree performance to help predict future tree growth. The article is titled “Mycorrhizal Fungi Influence on Mature Tree Growth: Stronger in High-Nitrogen Soils for an EMF-Associated Tree and in Low-Nitrogen Soils for Two AMF-Associated -Trees” and can be found here.
