Carboxylate release as a nutrient‐acquisition strategy in mycorrhizal plant species in phosphorus‐impoverished environments

• Published in: The Journal of ecology Vol. 113; no. 8; pp. 2077 - 2092
• Main Authors: Wang, Xiao, Yan, Li, Ranathunge, Kosala, Liu, Lele, Guo, Weihua, Dallongeville, Paul, Mou, Zhijian, Kang, Haibin, Lambers, Hans
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.08.2025
• Subjects: Arbuscular mycorrhizas; Carbon; Carbon 13; Carboxylates; Clusters; Ectomycorrhizas; Flowers & plants; Fungi; Isotopes; leaf manganese concentration; Leaves; Manganese; mycorrhizas; Nitrogen; Nutrient concentrations; nutrient economy; Nutrient release; Nutrient solutions; Nutrients; Phosphorus; Photosynthesis; Plant species; Plants; Plants (botany); plant–soil interactions; root carboxylates; Roots; Seedlings; Species; Stable isotopes; Symbiosis

Plants acquire phosphorus (P) in different ways, including using specialised root structures such as cluster roots and mycorrhizal symbioses. However, mycorrhizal fungi are less effective at acquiring P from severely P‐impoverished soils; yet many mycorrhizal plants thrive in such environments. Henc...