ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAS IN PLANTS COLONIZING COAL WASTES IN SCOTLAND

Abstract

SUMMARY All the grasses and nearly all the dicotyledonous plants growing on three coal tips in Scotland were infected by vesicular‐arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Infection levels ranged from 20 to 90%. Three main types of fungal endophytes were identified, two being Endogone spp. and one with very narrow hyphae. Mixed infections were present in some plants and there was some evidence that the endophytes occurred in different areas of the tips. The ecological importance of the mycorrhizas in these habitats is discussed.