Biotic Interactions of Grassland Plants: Above- and Belowground Linkages

植物和菌根真菌之间的共生是一种广泛传播的、生态学上重要的现象，但人们对此知之甚少。 这些互惠关系可以以多种方式影响合作伙伴，特别是影响植物宿主的植食性。 在草原生态系统中，这些关系普遍存在，它们对植食动物的影响可能通过影响植物对植食动物的耐受性而不是简单地提供防御来实现。 它测试的一般假设，植物/真菌共生的成本/效益平衡改变了栖息地中的食草动物的数量和菌根真菌影响的耐受性和防御的寄主植物的食草动物。 它将测试这些假设在一系列的tallgrass草原围隔和现场实验，正在进行的Konza草原研究自然区，以检查三个不同的潜在限制资源，光，N和P的一般影响。这项工作将进一步了解草食动物，真菌互惠，和宿主植物，完成重要的生物在草原生态系统中的相互作用的作用和相互作用。 它将增加对植物-真菌互惠共生的理解，特别是通过评估第三方（食草动物）对共生体稳定性的限制。

HartnettDEB 9873654Symbioses between plants and mycorrhizal fungi are wide-spread, ecologically important phenomena that are poorly understood. These mutualistic relationships can affect the partners in a variety of ways particularly influencing herbivory on the plant hosts. In grassland ecosystems where these relationships are ubiquitous, their influence on herbivory may operate by affecting plant tolerance of herbivory rather than simply providing defense against it. This project will integrate considerations of herbivory, plant tolerace and mycorrhizal symbiosis in evaluating ineractions between herbivores, fungi and host plants. It tests the general hypotheses that the cost/benefit balance of plant/fungal symbioses are altered by the amount of herbivory in a habitat and that mycorrhizal fungi influence the tolerance and defenses of host plants of herbivores. It will test these hypotheses in a series of tallgrass prairie mesocosm and field experiments that are being conducted at the Konza Prairie Research Natural Area to examine the general influence of three different potentially limiting resources, light, N and P. This work wil further the understanding of the roles and interactions of hervivores, fungal mutualists, and host plants which accomplish important biotic interactions in grassland ecosystems. It will increase the understanding of plant-fungal mutualism, particularly by evaluating the constraints of a third party, a herbivore, on the stability of the symbioses.