Data from: Mycelia-derived C contributes more to nitrogen cycling than root-derived C in ectomycorrhizal alpine forests

Creators

Ziliang Zhang, Department of Plant & Environmental Sciences, Clemson University
Qing Liu, CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Wenqiang Zhao, CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yuanshuang Yuan, CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Richard P. Phillips, Department of Biology, Indiana University
Huajun Yin, CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Description

1. Plant roots and their associated microbial symbionts impact carbon (C) and nutrient cycling in ecosystems, but estimates of the relative contributions of root- versus microbe-derived dynamic inputs are highly uncertain. Roots release C into soil via exudation and turnover (i.e., root-derived C), but also by allocating C to mycorrhizal fungal mycelia, which exude C and undergo turnover (i.e., mycelia-derived C). Given that the relative contributions of root- and mycelia-derived C inputs are unknown, a key knowledge gap lies in understanding not only the relative contributions of root- versus mycelia-derived C inputs, but also the consequences of these fluxes on nutrient cycling. 2. Using ingrowth cores and stable isotope analyses, we quantified root- and mycelia-derived C inputs into the soil and their relative contributions to nitrogen (N) cycling in two ectomycorrhizal alpine forests, a 70-year-old spruce plantation and a 200-year-old spruce-fir dominated forest, in western Sichuan, China. 3. Across the two forests, extramatrical mycelia of ectomycorrhizal fungi accounted for up to two-thirds of the new root C inputs into soil and ~80% of the stimulated N mineralization. Moreover, flux-specific (per gram) mycelia-derived C inputs stimulated multiple indices of soil N cycling to a greater degree than the flux-specific root-derived C inputs, accounting for ~70% of the stimulated N mineralization in both forests. 4. Collectively, our findings indicate that the effects of mycorrhizal fungi on soil C and N cycling may exceed those of roots in alpine coniferous forests dominated by ectomycorrhizal fungi, highlighting the need to incorporate mycorrhizal fungal inputs into biogeochemical models for ecosystems.

Publication Date

11-8-2019

Publisher

Zenodo

DOI

10.5061/dryad.kg17gq6

Document Type

Data Set

Recommended Citation

Zhang, Ziliang; Liu, Qing; Zhao, Wenqiang; Yuan, Yuanshuang; Phillips, Richard P.; Yin, Huajun (2019), "Data from: Mycelia-derived C contributes more to nitrogen cycling than root-derived C in ectomycorrhizal alpine forests", Zenodo, doi: 10.5061/dryad.kg17gq6

https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.kg17gq6

Identifier

4965233

Embargo Date

11-8-2019

Version

1