Collaborative Research: Relationship between Carbon Allocation to Mycorrhizal Fungi and Organic Nitrogen Use in Temperate Forests

真菌形成所谓的“菌根”，与植物根系密切相关，在森林碳和氮循环中发挥着至关重要的作用。 在这项研究中，研究人员将使用现有的和新的技术来测量碳流地下和从根到菌根真菌在不同地点与不同的土壤氮的可用性。还将评估菌根真菌是否允许树木直接从土壤中获得氨基酸。 两种主要类型的菌根真菌，丛枝菌根真菌和外生菌根真菌，在碳和氮循环的影响显着不同。 这两种真菌类型的丰度和功能的变化将被评估沿着土壤氮梯度。这些实地结果将用于改进广泛用于生态系统管理的模型。 这是第一次，不稳定的有机氮和菌根真菌将被明确纳入生态系统规模的建模，从而充分整合菌根真菌到我们的概念和定量的森林功能的图片。 这项研究将弥合研究森林生态系统，真菌和建模的研究人员之间的差距。 这项工作包括一个强大的教育组成部分，将高中生，大学生和研究生融入项目。 由于菌根真菌对森林生产力至关重要，因此更好地了解其功能也应该改善森林管理。

Fungi form so-called "mycorrhizae" closely associated with plant roots and play a crucial role in forest carbon and nitrogen cycling. In this study, researchers will use established and novel techniques to measure carbon flows belowground and from roots to the mycorrhizal fungi at different sites with varying soil nitrogen availability. Whether mycorrhizal fungi allow trees to directly acquire amino acids from the soil will also be assessed. The two main types of mycorrhizal fungi, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and ectomycorrhizal fungi, differ significantly in their effects on carbon and nitrogen cycling. Changes in the abundance and functions of these two fungal types will be assessed along the soil nitrogen gradient. These field results will be used to improve a model used extensively for ecosystem management. For the first time, labile organic nitrogen and mycorrhizal fungi will be explicitly incorporated into ecosystem-scale modeling, thereby fully integrating mycorrhizal fungi into our conceptual and quantitative picture of forest function. The research will bridge gaps among researchers studying forest ecosystems, fungi, and modeling. The work includes a strong educational component that will integrate high school students, college students, and graduate students into the project. Because mycorrhizal fungi are crucial to forest productivity, a better understanding of their functioning should also improve forest management.