2013 Volume 54 Issue 4 Pages 279-284
We performed a planting experiment to investigate the effects of mycorrhizal Cirsium purpuratum on the growth of Clematis stans using sterilized scoria collected from Mount Fuji, Japan. Mycorrhizal or non-mycorrhizal C. purpuratum seedlings of different ages were planted on one side of a rhizobox, and C. stans were sown at 5, 10, and 15 cm from the C. purpuratum. After the growth period, C. stans seedlings closer to C. purpuratum exhibited higher dry weights. Our results suggest that earlier colonizers may promote vegetation succession by providing a common mycelial network of mycorrhizal fungi that facilitates the establishment of later colonizers.
