Mycorrhizal Switching and the Role of Fungal Abundance in Seed Germination in a Fully Mycoheterotrophic Orchid, Gastrodia confusoides.

ABSTRACT: Mycorrhizal associations are essential for orchid germination and seedling establishment, and thus may constrain the distribution and abundance of orchids under natural conditions. Previous studies have shown that germination and seedling establishment in several orchids often decline with increasing distance from adult plants, resulting in non-random spatial patterns of seedling establishment. In contrast, individuals of the fully mycoheterotrophic orchid Gastrodia confusoides often tend to have random aboveground spatial patterns of distribution within bamboo forests. Since G. confusoides is parasitic on litter-decaying fungi, its random spatial patterns of distribution may be due to highly scattered patterns of litter-decaying fungi within bamboo forests. To test this hypo

SUBMITTER: Li YY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8792533 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature