Ectomycorrhizal and arbuscular colonization of aspen roots

On August 24, 2019, Justine Karst and Nadir Erbilgin sampled a 30–50 cm segment of root from each of three aspen (Populus tremuloides) trees within each plot at the interface of the humus layer of the forest floor and mineral soil. We traced roots from boles and confirmed their identity to be aspen by taste-testing. Sampled roots were put on ice after collection and transported to the University of Alberta the same day and stored at -20 °C prior to processing. Aspen roots were thawed and washed free of adhering soil. Fine roots (< 1 mm in diameter) were retained, cut into 1 cm fragments, mixed thoroughly in a dish of water, and subsampled for scoring roots for mycorrhizal colonization. Justine Karst scored roots for ectomycorrhizal colonization and James Franklin scored roots for arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization.