Integrated long-term responses of an arctic–alpine willow and associated ectomycorrhizal fungi to an altered environment

Abstract

We evaluated ectomycorrhizal (ECM) colonization and morphotype community composition together with growth response and biomass distribution in the arctic–alpine, prostrate willow Salix herbacea L. × Salix polaris Wahlenb. after 11 seasons of shading, warming, and fertilization at a fellfield in subarctic Sweden. The aim was to assess responses of the integrated plant–fungal system to long-term field experiments simulating expected environmental changes. Warming more than doubled aboveground S. herbacea × S. polaris biomass and shoot growth, whereas shading and nutrient addition had less influence on these variables. In shaded plants, adjustments at leaf level probably buffered major changes in plant biomass allocation. Fertilization increased the root mass fraction and changed root system morphology by decreasing the number of root tips per unit root mass. While no long-term changes in total ECM colonization (%ECM root tips) in response to the treatments were identified, ECM colonization in June just after snowmelt was positively correlated with root density. Changes in densities of potential host plants may therefore be of great importance for ECM colonization intensity in this ecosystem type. The ECM morphotype community changed through the season, and frequencies of some ECM morphotypes ( Cortinarius saturninus and Clavulina spp.) changed more with season than with the treatments. Warming only slightly affected ECM morphotype frequencies, which implies a balanced increase in root tip numbers of most ECM morphotypes in warmed plants. Fertilization changed ECM morphotype community composition mainly because of a decrease in Cenococcum geophilum frequency and an increase in Tomentella stuposa frequency. We hypothesize that a shift from drought stress-tolerant fungi towards a dominance of minerogenic fungi may take place if nutrient availability increases substantially because of anthropogenic disturbances.