Biology subjects

Livne- Luzon, S.

Publications and source records attributed to Livne- Luzon, S..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2022

Tell me who your neighbors are: The role of spatial location and tree species identity in determining the ectomycorrhizal community composition of saplings and mature trees in a mixed conifer forest

O_LIThe mutualistic interaction between trees and ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) can have a major effect on forest dynamics and specifically in seedling establishment. Both intrinsic (i.e., identity of the sapling) and extrinsic (i.e., the identity of mature trees in the vicinity of the sapling) factors can affect the EMF community composition of young saplings. C_LIO_LIHere, we compared the EMF community composition associated with the roots of young saplings and mature trees of two co-habiting Pinaceae: Pinus halepensis and Cedrus deodara growing together in a planted forest plot, using fungal ITS metabarcoding. C_LIO_LIWe found that the differences between the two sapling groups were mostly attributed to changes in the relative abundance of specific fungal species. Moreover, we found that physical proximity to a specific host species had a significant effect on the community composition of young saplings. However, while no significant differences in sapling size were apparent, the sapling shoot structure was affected by the identity of the nearest mature tree and its unique EMF community composition. C_LIO_LISynthesis: These results suggest that the dynamics of the EMF community are greatly determined by extrinsic factors such as the small-scale distribution of mature trees in the forest, with possible cascading effects on the development of young trees. C_LI

ecology↗

bioRxiv2022

The effects of drought and inter-plant competition on the ectomycorrhizal interaction between fungi and Aleppo pine seedlings

O_LIAn increase in tree mortality is currently evident in forests around the world. Such mortality could be counterbalanced by the native regeneration of seedlings. Seedling establishment under natural conditions is often limited by inter-plant competition and drought conditions. Many forest ecosystems rely on ectomycorrhizal relationships which could be affected by competition and drought, altering forest resilience. C_LIO_LIWe carried out an experiment testing the combined effects of drought, herbaceous competition, and ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) on the growth and shape of Aleppo pine seedlings and the EMF community composition. C_LIO_LIPines that germinated in the presence of the EMF spores were taller, had greater biomass, and more side branches. However, under conditions of either competition or drought, the effect of EMF on seedling biomass and height was greatly reduced, while the effect on shoot branching was maintained. Under a combination of drought and competition, EMF had no influence on plant growth and shape. The EMF community was strongly dominated by Geopora species, and its structure was not affected by the treatments. Plants experiencing competition were nitrogen poor but presented the highest levels of EMF sequence abundance. C_LIO_LIStressful conditions seem to alter the relationship between EMF and seedling growth. Specifically, under drought, both colonization and seedling response to EMF was small. However, under competition, colonization was maintained while no growth enhancement was evident. This discrepancy highlights the complexity of the benefits provided to seedlings by EMF under ecologically relevant conditions. C_LI

ecology↗

bioRxiv2020

High resilience of the mycorrhizal community to prescribed seasonal burnings in a Mediterranean woodland

Fire effects on ecosystems range from destruction of aboveground vegetation to direct and indirect effects on belowground microorganisms. Although variation in such effects is expected to be related to fire severity, another potentially important and poorly understood factor is the effects of fire seasonality on soil microorganisms. We carried out a large-scale field experiment examining the effects of spring versus autumn burns on the community composition of soil fungi in a typical Mediterranean woodland. Although the intensity and severity of our prescribed burns were largely consistent between the two burning seasons, we detected differential fire season effects on the composition of the soil fungal community, driven by changes in the saprotrophic fungal guild. The community composition of ectomycorrhizal fungi, assayed both in pine seedling bioassays and from soil sequencing, appeared to be resilient to the variation inflicted by seasonal fires. Since changes in the soil saprotrophic fungal community can directly influence carbon emission and decomposition rates, we suggest that regardless of their intensity and severity, seasonal fires may cause changes in ecosystem functioning. DeclarationsO_ST_ABSFundingC_ST_ABSThis research was co-supported by the United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF Grant 2012081) and Tel-Hai College. Conflicts of interest/Competing interestsWe declare no conflicts of interest and that this material has not been submitted for publication elsewhere. Ethics approvalNot applicable Consent to participateNot applicable Consent for publicationNot applicable Availability of data and materialSequences were submitted to the National Center for Biotechnology Information Sequence Read Archive under accession numbers SRRXXX{square}SRRXXX. Code availabilityNot applicable Authors contributionsOO HS TB YO YC conceived and designed the experiment. SSL YA HM AT performed the experiment. SIG provided the pipeline scripts, and guidance in bioinformatics work and analyses. SLL OO HS wrote the paper and analyzed the data, and all authors contributed substantially to revisions.

ecology↗