Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/C510291/1
Are there keystone ectomycorrhizal fungi that mediate tree invasion of lowland heathlands?
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Professor MI Bidartondo, Imperial College London, Biological Sciences
- Grant held at:
- Imperial College London, Biological Sciences
- Science Area:
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Terrestrial
- ENRIs:
- Natural Resource Management
- Biodiversity
- Science Topics:
- Environmental Microbiology
- Population Ecology
- Community Ecology
- Soil science
- Abstract:
- Ectomycorrhizal fungi are essential symbiotic partners of the vast majority of temperate trees; the fungi play a critical role in plant nutrition by exchanging mineral nutrients captured from the soil for access to plant organic carbon. However, we know surprisingly little about how the availability of ectomycorrhizal fungi affects the establishment of tree seedlings in natural environments. Heathlands are unique ecosystems that are threatened worldwide by ectomycorrhizal tree invasion. The trees shade out native heath shrubs and eventually the heathland becomes woodland. In the British Isles, heathlands are a cherished component of the landscape and they are high-profile habitats for biodiversity and conservation. Lowland heathlands have experienced the most dramatic decline in the last century, largely due to birch and pine invasion, both of which are obligately ectomycorrhizal trees. This study will use a combined field and laboratory approach to uncover the distribution of ectomycorrhizal fungi in lowland heaths and unravel the initial symbiotic events involved with tree establishment. We will rely heavily on molecular ecology approaches because ectomycorrhizal fungi are highly diverse and largely cryptic organisms; to date, these powerful approaches have been rarely applied to the study of British ectomycorrhizal fungi. Our results will be broadly relevant because they will be carried out throughout multiple seasons at different locations, they will be amenable to comparison with other heathland systems, and they will provide stepping stones for performing ecologically-significant work in the future aimed at addressing ectomycorrhizal tree invasion of heathlands.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/C510291/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Standard Grants Pre FEC
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Standard Grant
This grant award has a total value of £53,904
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - T&S | Total - Other Costs | Total - Indirect Costs |
|---|---|---|
| £5,782 | £31,562 | £16,560 |
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