Mycorrhiza and carbon flow to the soil

Abstract

The current extent of knowledge on the supply of carbon compounds to mycorrhizal roots and mycelia, and their subsequent distribution and cycling within the soil ecosystem is reviewed. The carbon requirements of different mycorrhizal fungi are discussed and carbon transfer from host root tissue to the fungal biomass is considered in relation to available information on the amounts and types of compounds that are translocated, as well as their ultimate partitioning. Problems of estimating mycorrhizal mycelial biomass and theoretical estimates of necessary carbon flow are discussed. The possible existence and implications of mycorrhizosphere effects and possible interactions with other microbial populations are also considered.