INSTITUTION: NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY
The aims of this research are to determine effects of enriched atmospheric CO2 concentration on mycorrhizal associations between vascular plants and fungi, working in a field experiment at the Cedar Creek LTER site in Minnesota. The focus of the work is on effects of individual species of plants and fungi on community and ecosystem functioning, and on changes in those effects with CO2 enrichment. Additional experiments will be done in pure culture and in greenhouse pot experiments. The work is important because mycorrhizal associations between plants and fungi are a key link between primary production and soil processes. Anthropogenic enrichment of atmospheric CO2 and soil N is expected to have a significant impact on these vital symbioses but the nature of that impact is poorly understood at present.
