Dissertation Research: Nutrient Translocation Through VA Mycorrhizae & the Effects on Plant Performance & Early Succession under Differential Light in a Lowland Tro

9311079马基本论文的目的是研究在光照、菌根侵染和菌丝转移的限制下，相对生长率、根冠比、净同化作用和相对物种优势度作为生产力和群落组成的决定因素。一系列实验将在实验室和田间的个体、种内和种间水平上检验这些因素。使用标记的磷和碳的田间试验将被用来监测营养从菌根真菌到植物的转移，反之亦然。将在史密森热带森林研究所进行研究，探讨真菌在恢复退化的热带森林生态系统中的作用。这项研究将首次获得关于光、感染和移位之间复杂相互作用的热带数据，并将展示这些因素对群落中单个植物生产以及当地群落动态的影响程度。这些数据对于更好地了解地下生态系统及其如何影响热带地区的自然演替和重新造林至关重要。***

9311079 Mulkey The purpose of this Dissertation Improvement grant is to examine relative growth rates, root-shoot ratios, net assimilation, and relative species dominance as determinants of productivity and community composition under constraints of light, mycorrhizal infection, and hyphal transfer. A series of experiments will examine these factors at the individual, intraspecific, and interspecific levels in the laboratory and in the field. Field experiments using labeled phosphorus and carbon will be used to monitor transfer of nutrients from mycorrhizal fungi to plants and vice versa. Studies will be conducted at the Smithsonian Tropical Forest Research Institute to address the role of fungi in the restoration of degraded tropical forest ecosystems. %%% This study will obtain the first tropical data on the complex interactions of light, infection, and translocation, and will demonstrate the extent to which these affect individual plant production in a community, as well as local community dynamics. These data are critical for a better understanding of the belowground ecosystem and how it affects natural succession and reforestation in the tropics. ***