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NITROGEN STABLE ISOTOPE RATIOS IN SPOROCARPS OF ECTOMYCORRHIZAL FUNGI: INFLUENCE OF PHYLOGENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
Citation:
Trudell, S. A., P T. Rygiewicz, AND R. L. Edmonds. NITROGEN STABLE ISOTOPE RATIOS IN SPOROCARPS OF ECTOMYCORRHIZAL FUNGI: INFLUENCE OF PHYLOGENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS. Presented at Mycological Society of America meeting, Salt Lake City, UT, August 25-29, 2001.
Description:
It has been suggested that nitrogen stable isotope ratios (expressed as delta 15-N) of fungus sporocarps, in conjunction with delta 15-N data from other ecosystem compartments, can be used to elucidate key processes in forest N-cycling. Although results of previous studies generally support this idea, they also show that the large number of factors that influence delta 15-N can complicate interpretation of the data. To date, there has been no integrated study of the relative degree to which the different sources of variation contribute to the observed delta 15-N of fungus sporocarp samples. Here, we report initial delta 15-N measurements on a large number of sporocarp collections from two conifer forests located in contrasting environmental zones on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington. Based on these data, we provide estimates of variance in delta 15-N for individual species and genera of ectomycorrhizal fungi and assess the degree to which phylogenetic and environmental factors appear to influence delta 15-N values. The results of our overall study, of which this work is one component, will increase the usefulness of stable isotope ratios in understanding N-cycling and, hopefully, help draw greater attention to the critical ecosystem roles played by fungi.