Pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) is among the major managed tree species in Europe. In Poland, oak woodlands cover 6.9% of forest area. Furthermore, the significance of native oaks for Polish forestry is rising because the Polish National Forest Strategy predicts a growth of forest cover from 28.5% to 33% by year 2050 with the primary focus on the increase in contribution of deciduous tree species (from 22% to 33%). Therefore, for establishment of new stands, oak seedlings are grown for 2−3 years in forest nurseries. For optimal growth and development all European oak species are critically dependent on ectomycorrhizal fungi. The objective of this study was to describe the temporal dynamics of ectomycorrhizal community of pedunculate oak seedlings during the first year of growth in bare−root forest nursery. Experiment was conducted in forest nursery Miranowo (western Poland). The species structure of an ectomycorrhizal community was assessed every 10 or 15 days from May till October. Mycorrhizal colonization of tested seedlings changed from 0 to 85% depending of the time of sampling. Based on combination of morphological and molecular techniques, nine ectomycorrhizal fungal taxa were distinguished. The first ectomycorrhizas formed by Scleroderma verrucosum were detected 50 days after acorns sowing. In the next sampling days ectomycorrhizal community was dominated consecutively by Inocybe curvipes and Hebeloma sacchariolens (with maximum of abundance 60.98 and 75.55%, respectively). The obtained results were strongly influenced by the infection with the fungal biotroph Erysiphe alphitoides and resulted in a dramatic reduction in the abundance of living ectomycorrhizas down to 7.5%. Our investigation revealed that ectomycorrhizal fungal community of pedunculate oak seedlings during the first year of growth in bare−root forest nursery is rich in terms of number of species and a temporal changes are very dynamic. Thus we suggest, that in case of pedunculate oak artificial inoculation in general is not necessary for oaks seedlings in nursery practice.

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