Inoculation with the ectomycorrhizal fungi Pisolithus arhizus and Scleroderma sp. improves early growth of Shorea pinanga nursery seedlings

Author： Turjaman Maman Tamai Yutaka Segah Hendrik Limin Suwido Hester Cha Joo Young Osaki Mitsuru Tawaraya Keitaro

Publisher： Springer Publishing Company

ISSN： 0169-4286

Source： New Forests, Vol.30, Iss.1, 2005-07, pp. : 67-73

Disclaimer: Any content in publications that violate the sovereignty, the constitution or regulations of the PRC is not accepted or approved by CNPIEC.

Previous Menu Next

Abstract

Trees of the family Dipterocarpaceae are the dominant trees in Southeast Asian tropical forests where they play an important ecological role and are also important commercially. An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of ectomycorrhizal fungi on the growth of dipterocarp species in peat soils. Seedlings of Shorea pinanga were inoculated with spores of two ectomycorrhizal fungi, Pisolithus arhizus and Scleroderma sp. were grown in pots containing sterilized peat soil for 7 months. The percentage of ectomycorrhizal colonization on S. pinanga exceeded 86%. Colonization of S. pinanga roots by ectomycorrhizal fungi resulted in increased shoot height, stem diameter, number of leaves, and shoot fresh and dry weight. Survival rates of S. pinanga were greater for inoculated seedlings than control seedlings. These results suggest that inoculation of ectomycorrhizal fungi can improve the early growth of S. pinanga grown in tropical forests and that this technique will accelerate the rehabilitation of degraded dipterocarp forests.