Ectomycorrhizal fungal community assembly on seedlings of a Neotropical monodominant tree

Ectomycorrhizal tree species may benefit from positive plant-soil feedbacks, where soil environments near adult trees enhance conspecific seedling growth and survival. In tropical monodominant forests seedling survival is particularly important, as seedling banks help maintain stand-level dominance over generations. Positive plant-soil feedbacks may be mediated by diverse ectomycorrhizal fungal communities, which improve nutrient acquisition of heavily shaded seedlings. Despite the potential importance of these fungi, little is known about ectomycorrhizal fungal community development on seedlings of tropical monodominant trees. In Guyana, we sequentially monitored percent colonization and species composition of ectomycorrhizal fungi on an even-age cohort of seedlings of the tropical monodominant tree Dicymbe corymbosa (Fabaceae subfamily Detarioideae). Ectomycorrhizal fungi found on D. corymbosa seedlings over a twelve-month period of early development were compared to those of conspeci...