Mycorrhizal dependency of some endemic and endangered Hawaiian plant species.

Four endemic species of Hawaiian plants were tested for their response to inoculation with a Hawaiian isolate of Glomus aggregatum (an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus [AMF]) when grown in a native soil with or without P added to achieve different soil-solution P levels. The endangered species (Sesbania tomentosa [Fabaceae] and Colubrina oppositifolia [Rhamnaceae]) and two nonendangered species (Bidens sandvicensis and B. asymmetrica × sandvicensis [Asteraceae]) were tested. When soil-solution P levels in greenhouse trials were similar to unfertilized field soils (e.g., 0.005-0.020 mg P/L), shoots of inoculated plants were 2.1 to 7.0 times larger than noninoculated plants. Leaf tissue P levels and root biomass in these species showed similar responses to inoculation. Mycorrhizal dependencies ranging from 44 to 88% were measured when plants were grown in low-P soils and were -4-42% in soil with P levels typical of highly productive agricultural soils. A survey of P levels in a variety of native (nonagricultural) Hawaiian soils indicated the widespread occurrence of P-limited sites (mean = 0.010 mg P/L, range = <0.001-0.030 mg P/L; N = 41). The terms "ecological mycorrhizal dependency" (EMD) and "agricultural mycorrhizal dependency" (AMD) are introduced to refine the concept of mycorrhizal dependency.

VA MYCORRHIZAE IN STRAND VEGETATION OF HAWAII: EVIDENCE FOR LONG-DISTANCE CODISPERSAL OF PLANTS AND FUNGI.

Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (VAMF) were a nearly constant component of the coastal strand of the Hawaiian Islands, occurring in beach sand, driftline debris, in roots of 23 of 31 species of vascular plants examined, and in association with rhizomes of two native species, Sporobolus virginicus and Jacquemontia sandwicensis. Mycorrhizae were most frequent and intensity of VAM development was greatest in endemic plants, less in indigenous species, and least in alien species. Spores of VAMF were produced in abundance between the rhizome and the leaf sheaths of Sporobolus. Roots of two strand species, including roots of Sporobolus that were immersed in seawater for 7 days, functioned as inocula of VAMF in pot-culture studies. The close association between propagules of VAMF and vegetative fragments of indigenous plants found in the present study suggests a mechanism of codispersal that appears to ensure the maintenance of the symbiosis in nutrient-deficient sites where it is most beneficial. The codispersal of fungus and plant may explain the high frequency of mycotrophy in strand species in the tropical Pacific.