Role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in plant adaptation to copper mine tailings

摘要

Series of greenhouse experiments were conducted to investigate the potential role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in plant adaptation to cupper mine tailings. The results indicated that generally mycorrhiza could improve plant phosphorus nutrition and alleviate metal phytotoxicity, as a result encourage plant growth on the mine tailings. These effects were more pronounced for plants species with strong mycorrhizal dependency. When clover ( Trifolium repens L.) and ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) plants grew in mixture, mycorrhiza showed no obvious influence on growth and element uptake of ryegrass, but improved competitiveness of clover plants. In an experiment with four plant species to form a plant community, mixed inoculation with different mycorrhizal fungi did not affect total biomass production compared to uninoculated control or inoculation with single fungal species, however community biomass composition and nutrients partitioning among the plant species were substantially affected. The results suggested that suitable symbiont for certain host plant could maximize the symbiotic efficacy and would be most favourable for establishing a stable plant community on the mine tailings.