Improvement of Micronutrient Uptake of Valuable Broadleaves in Interaction With Glomus mosseae

Excessive exploitation by humans has in the last century depleted valuable broadleaf trees in Italian forests, and reforestation is desirable. The present work evaluated the impact of a vescicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungus on growth and on micronutrient accumulation by the plant-hosts. Four species of trees, Prunus avium L., Fraxinus excelsior L., Acer pseudoplatanus L., and Juglans nigra L. were inoculated with Glomus mosseae Nicol. & Gerd., a VAM fungus (Zygomycetes, Glomales) , and grown in a greenhouse. VAM infection and root colonization, tree growth, and micronutrient accumulation were evaluated after 2 years of growth. An enhanced growth of mycorrhizal plants was characterized by a general improvement, varying from species to species, of the micronutrient concentration in stems and roots. Therefore, VAM infection of the plants studied could have improved transplanting stress and the slow growth typical of these species. Several researchers have reported beneficial effects on trees from ectomycorrhizal fungi, but literature on VAM symbiosis of tree species is limited. This work contributes to our understanding of the effects of VAM symbiosis on the accumulation of certain micronutrients in valuable woody tree species.