Nutrient trade-offs mediated by ectomycorrhizal strategies in plants: Evidence from an Abies species in subalpine forest

1.    Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) symbiosis is an evolutionary biological trait of higher plants for effective nutrient uptakes. However, little is known that how the formation and morphological differentiations of ECM roots mediate the nutrients of below- and aboveground plant tissues and the balance among nutrient elements across environmental gradients. Here we investigated the effects of ECM foraging strategies on root and foliar N and P concentrations and N:P ratio Abies faxoniana under variations of climate and soil conditions.

2.    The ECM symbionts preferentially mediated P uptake under both N and P limitations. The uptake efficiency of N and P was primarily associated with the ECM root traits, e.g., ECM root tip density, superficial area of ECM root tips, the ratio of living to dead root tips, and was affected by the ECM proliferations and morphological differentiations. The tissue N and P concentrations were positively associated with the abundance of the contact exploration typ...