Nutrient conditions mediate mycorrhizal effects on biomass production and cell wall chemistry in poplar

 Large-scale biofuel production from lignocellulosic feedstock is limited by the financial and environmental costs associated with growing and processing lignocellulosic material and the resilience of these plants to environmental stress. Symbiotic associations with arbuscular (AM) and ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi represent a potential strategy for expanding feedstock production while reducing nutrient inputs. Comparing AM and EM effects on wood production and chemical composition is a necessary step in developing biofuel feedstocks. Here, we assessed the productivity, biomass allocation and secondary cell wall (SCW) composition of greenhouse-grown Populus tremuloidesMichx. inoculated with either AM or EM fungi. Given the long-term goal of reducing nutrient inputs for biofuel production, we further tested the effects of nutrient availability and nitrogen: phosphorus stoichiometry on mycorrhizal responses. Associations with both AM and EM fungi increased plant biomass by 14–74% depending o..., To test the effects of mycorrhizal fungi on poplar traits, we inoculated Populus tremuloides with multi-species consortiums of arbuscular and ectomycorrhizal fungi. Nonmycorrhizal plants were included as a control. Plants were grown in a greenhouse under varying nutrient conditions by applying 100% (high) and 15% (low) strength Hoaglands solution modified to a 3:1 or 9:1 nitrogen to phosphorus ratio. Plants were harvested nine weeks after the start of the nutrient treatments and separated into leaf, stem, and root tissue to determine biomass. Allocation to different plant tissues was calculated as the ratio of tissue-specific biomass relative to total plant biomass (leaf mass fraction, LMF = dry leaf biomass / total dry biomass; stem mass fraction, SMF = dry stem biomass / total dry biomass; root mass fraction, RMF = dry root biomass / total dry biomass). Stem height and basal diameter were to estimate total stem volume and wood density (density = stem biomass/stem volume). Leaf nitroge..., , # Nutrient conditions mediate mycorrhizal effects on biomass production and cell wall chemistry in poplar

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.gf1vhhmvx](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.gf1vhhmvx)

Two .csv files contain raw and calculated data each row is a replicate plant from a mycorrhizal by nutrient treatment.

## Description of the data and file structure

*Headers in the \"PoplarGrowth.csv\" file are as follows:*

fert.trt = categorical nutrient treatment coded as 1-4
fert.strength = strength of fertilizer application coded as 100% (high) or 15% (low)
fertN = nitrogen content of the fertilizer in ppm
fertP = phosphorus content of the fertilizer in ppm
fertNP = nitrogen to phosophorus ratio of the nutrient treatment
myc = categorical mycorrhizal treatment coded as A = arbuscular, E = ectomycorrhizal and C = nonmycorrhizal control
rep = plant replicate ID
ht.cm = plant height at the time of harvest in cm
dia.cm = basal stem diameter at the time of harvest in cm
stem.vol.cm3 = estimated stem...