01695nas a2200157 4500008004100000245010000041210006900141300001500210490000700225520110000232653002201332100002001354700001501374700001701389856013101406 1988 eng d00aMycorrhizal dependence and growth habit of warm-season and cool-season tallgrass prairie plants0 aMycorrhizal dependence and growth habit of warmseason and coolse a1376 -13800 v663 a
Warm-season (C4) and cool-season (C3) mycorrhizal grasses were 63-215 and 0.12-4.1 times larger in dry weight than non-inoculated controls, respectively. Nonmycorrhizal warm-season plants did not grow and frequently died, while cool-season plants grew moderately well in the absense of mycorrhizal symbiosis. Like warm-season grasses, tallgrass prairie forbs were highly dependent on mycorrhizal symbiosis, even though they are not known to employ the C4 photosynthetic pathway. Thus, phenology may be more critical than photosynthetic pathway in determining mycorrhizal dependence. Warm-season grasses and forbs had coarser, less frequently branched root systems than cool-season grasses, supporting the hypothesis that mycorrhizal dependence is related to root morphology. Cool-season grasses may have developed more fibrous root systems because mycorrhizal nutrient uptake was not effective in the colder temperature environment in which they evolved. In contrast, warm-season plants and dependence on mycorrhizal fungi may have coevolved, because both symbionts are of tropical origin
10atallgrass prairie1 aHetrick, B.A.D.1 aKitt, D.G.1 aWilson, G.T. uhttp://lter.konza.ksu.edu/content/mycorrhizal-dependence-and-growth-habit-warm-season-and-cool-season-tallgrass-prairie-plants