Differences in Mycorrhizal Status Induced by Long-Term Fertilization in Roots of Perennial Grassland Species

Abstract

Abstract Perennial species in a mountain grassland where there is high oligotrophy need support for good development. Soil nutrients, either in large amounts or in small quantities, are the driving force in the management of communities of microorganisms that compete and proliferate nutritionally. The symbiosis between vascular plants and fungi in the soil is extraordinary support for perennial species. The roots of the two dominant species in the meadow were harvested after the moment of flowering. They were prepared and stained according to standard methods for evaluating the colonization process. And the process was quantified with the MycoPatt tool. For both species, differentiated fertilization induces similar changes in fungal strategy. But at the level of the formation of the specific structures of the fungi as well as in their development in the cells of the host plants the differences are visible. Maps exported from the MycoPatt tool can be analysed based on strategies or punctually based on color distribution. One can analyse the distribution of each colour (hyphae-blue, arbuscules-red, vesicles-green) as well as the white areas that are represented by parts of the root where the plant does not allow the development of fungi. The use of the MycoPatt tool simplifies the understanding of the symbiotic process and in addition to the multitude of exported indices, it also provides colonization maps that easily show the changes induced by fertilization on the host plants. Thus, being able to predict the best management practice of the whole ecosystem, to sustainably develop grasslands.