Seedling_EM_colonization_survival_growth_dat

We grew ectomycorrhizal (EM) tree seedlings Tsuga canadensis, Pinus strobus, and Quercus spp. for two years across three secondary forests dominated by arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) Acer spp. trees in New York, USA. Seedlings were planted next to either the dominant AM Acer spp. or scattered EM Betula spp. A subset of seedlings received soil inoculum from local EM dominated forests, which included an old-growth Tsuga-hardwood forest, residual Tsuga-hardwood forest, as well as a secondary forest dominated by Quercus rubra and planted Picea abies.
Seedling survival and height growth were monitored annually, and upon harvest we measured seedling shoot mass and EM fungal colonization of roots. We identified EM fungi using morphotyping following by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) amplicons and Sanger DNA sequencing of RFLP exemplars.