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Tree diversity and the role of non-host neighbour tree species in reducing fungal pathogen infestation.

ABSTRACT: The degree to which plant pathogen infestation occurs in a host plant is expected to be strongly influenced by the level of species diversity among neighbouring host and non-host plant species. Since pathogen infestation can negatively affect host plant performance, it can mediate the effects of local biodiversity on ecosystem functioning.We tested the effects of tree diversity and the proportion of neighbouring host and non-host species with respect to the foliar fungal pathogens of Tilia cordata and Quercus petraea in the Kreinitz tree diversity experiment in Germany. We hypothesized that fungal pathogen richness increases while infestation decreases with increasing local tree diversity. In addition, we tested whether fungal pathogen richness and infestation are dependent on the proportion of host plant species present or on the proportion of particular non-host neighbouring tree species.Leaves of the two target species were sampled across three consecutive years with visible foliar fungal pathogens on the leaf surface being identified macro- and microscopically. Effects of diversity among neighbouring trees were analysed: (i) for total fungal species richness and fungal infestation on host trees and (ii) for infestation by individual fungal species.We detected four and five fungal species on T. cordata and Q. petraea, respectively. High local tree diversity reduced (i) total fungal species richness and infestation of T. cordata and fungal infestation of Q. petraea and (ii) infestation by three host-specialized fungal pathogen species. These effects were brought about by local tree diversity and were independent of host species proportion. In general, host species proportion had almost no effect on fungal species richness and infestation. Strong effects associated with the proportion of particular non-host neighbouring tree species on fungal species richness and infestation were, however, recorded.Synthesis. For the first time, we experimentally demonstrated that for two common forestry tree species, foliar fungal pathogen richness and infestation depend on local biodiversity. Thus, local tree diversity can have positive impacts on ecosystem functioning in managed forests by decreasing the level of fungal pathogen infestation.

SUBMITTER: Hantsch L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4278444 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Tree diversity and the role of non-host neighbour tree species in reducing fungal pathogen infestation.

Hantsch Lydia L Bien Steffen S Radatz Stine S Braun Uwe U Auge Harald H Bruelheide Helge H

The Journal of ecology 20141024 6

The degree to which plant pathogen infestation occurs in a host plant is expected to be strongly influenced by the level of species diversity among neighbouring host and non-host plant species. Since pathogen infestation can negatively affect host plant performance, it can mediate the effects of local biodiversity on ecosystem functioning.We tested the effects of tree diversity and the proportion of neighbouring host and non-host species with respect to the foliar fungal pathogens of <i>Tilia co ...[more]

PMID: 25558092

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Project description:Research aimed at understanding the mechanisms underlying the relationship between tree diversity and antagonist infestation is often neglecting resource-use complementarity among plant species. We investigated the effects of tree species identity, species richness, and mycorrhizal type on leaf herbivory and pathogen infestation. We used a tree sapling experiment manipulating the two most common mycorrhizal types, arbuscular mycorrhiza and ectomycorrhiza, via respective tree species in monocultures and two-species mixtures. We visually assessed leaf herbivory and pathogen infestation rates, and measured concentrations of a suite of plant metabolites (amino acids, sugars, and phenolics), leaf elemental concentrations (carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus), and tree biomass. Tree species and mycorrhizal richness had no significant effect on herbivory and pathogen infestation, whereas species identity and mycorrhizal type had. Damage rates were higher in arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) than in ectomycorrhizal (EM) trees. Our structural equation model (SEM) indicated that elemental, but not metabolite concentrations, determined herbivory and pathogen infestation, suggesting that the investigated chemical defence strategies may not have been involved in the effects found in our study with tree saplings. Other chemical and physical defence strategies as well as species identity as its determinant may have played a more crucial role in the studied saplings. Furthermore, the SEM indicated a direct positive effect of AM trees on herbivory rates, suggesting that other dominant mechanisms, not considered here, were involved as well. We found differences in the attribution of elemental concentrations between the two rates. This points to the fact that herbivory and pathogen infestation are driven by distinct mechanisms. Our study highlights the importance of biotic contexts for understanding the mechanisms underlying the effects of biodiversity on tree-antagonist interactions.

Dataset Information

Tree diversity and the role of non-host neighbour tree species in reducing fungal pathogen infestation.

Publications

Tree diversity and the role of non-host neighbour tree species in reducing fungal pathogen infestation.

Similar Datasets

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