Mycorrhizal colonisation of exotic conifers in kānuka and mānuka shrublands
Mycorrhizal colonisation of Douglas-fir and Corsican pine seedlings in soil from kānuka and mānuka dominated shrublands in Canterbury was studied using a bait plant technique. Soil cores were collected from 10 sites of each shrubland, transferred to a glasshouse, and sown with seed of both tree species. Mycorrhizal colonisation was examined after 19 weeks’ growth. Overall, seedlings of Douglas-fir were larger than those of Corsican pine, but the amount of Corsican pine seedlings that were colonised (56%) was about twice that of Douglas-fir (29%).