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Updated: Jul 12, 2025

Investigation of Plant Interactions Across Common Mycorrhizal Networks Using Rotated Cores
Published on: March 26, 2019
Evolutionary and ecological forces shape nutrient strategies of mycorrhizal woody plants
Lulu Guo1,2,3, Meifeng Deng1,2, Xuefei Li4
1State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Abstract:
The associations of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) or ectomycorrhiza (EcM) fungi with plants have sequentially evolved and significantly contributed to enhancing plant nutrition. Nonetheless, how evolutionary and ecological forces drive nutrient acquisition strategies of AM and EcM woody plants remains poorly understood. Our global analysis of woody species revealed that, over divergence time, AM woody plants evolved faster nitrogen mineralization rates without changes in nitrogen resorption. However, EcM woody plants exhibited an increase in nitrogen mineralization but a decrease in nitrogen resorption, indicating a shift towards a more inorganic nutrient economy. Despite this alteration, when evaluating present-day woody species, AM woody plants still display faster nitrogen mineralization and lower nitrogen resorption than EcM woody plants. This inorganic nutrient economy allows AM woody plants to thrive in warm environments with a faster litter decomposition rate. Our findings indicate that the global pattern of nutrient acquisition strategies in mycorrhizal plants is shaped by the interplay between phylogeny and climate.
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