Strangers in a new land: Do Alnus and Salix trees associate with different ectomycorrhizal fungi outside their native ranges?
P. KENNEDY (1), L. Bogar (1), I. Dickie (2), D. Peltzer (2). (1) Lewis & Clark College, Portland, OR, U.S.A.; (2) Landcare Research, Christchurch, New Zealand
The ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal communities associated with <i>Alnus</i> and <i>Salix</i> species has been well characterized in their native ranges, but no belowground work has been done on the ECM fungi associated with either host genus in New Zealand. Despite sharing similar life histories aboveground, the ECM fungal communities associated with <i>Alnus</i> and <i>Salix</i> appear to differ dramatically. <i>Salix</i> hosts a diverse range of ECM fungal species dominated by lineages commonly found on other host genera. In contrast, <i>Alnus</i>-associated ECM fungal communities are notably species-poor and dominated by host specific species. To determine the extent to which these patterns hold in areas where both genera are non-native and co-invading riparian habitats, we sampled the ECM root tip communities associated with <i>Alnus</i> and <i>Salix</i> species from both the North and South island of New Zealand. We found that the ECM fungal community associated with <i>Salix</i> was more diverse than associated with <i>Alnus</i>, and despite consistent intermingling of roots, there was very little overlap in ECM species composition among host genera. In addition, the ECM fungi associated with both <i>Alnus</i> and <i>Salix</i> in New Zealand appear to be strongly dominated by non-native species. This study, along with previous work on ECM host invasions, suggest that ECM fungal community patterns found in New Zealand are largely congruent with those found in the native ranges of diverse host species.
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