Shorea robusta (Sal) is an ecologically and economically important hardwood tree species growing in the plains and lower foothills of the Himalayan region. It is a dual-mycorrhizal tree associated with both arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) and ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi. To understand how ECM communities associated with Sal roots are structured, we studied their diversity, composition, and root colonisation in four tropical forests along an elevation gradient (82 to 950 m a.s.l.). The ECM community was not found to be very diverse: we obtained 155 ECM operational taxonomic units (OTUs) belonging to 13 ECM genera in 8 families of Basidiomycota. The genus Tomentella was the most dominant, followed by Russula and Inocybe. Elevation explained 10.2% of variability in ECM composition, and significant effects of forest type, geographic position, soil temperature and moisture were confirmed. The forest at the highest elevation had ECM communities whose community structure was divergent from those at lower elevation. ECM root colonisation significantly decreased with increasing elevation and decreasing available P content. Whereas a low number of ECM species produced a high ECM colonisation of Shorea roots in low-elevation forests, a more diverse ECM community formed a low ECM colonization in high-elevation forests. The identified dominant species may be potentially used as inoculum for Sal forest restoration.

Central Department of Botany Tribhuvan University Kirtipur Nepal

Department of Biology Central Campus of Technology Tribhuvan University Dharan Nepal

Department of Botany Degree Campus Tribhuvan University Biratnagar Nepal

Department of Botany Faculty of Science University of South Bohemia Ceske Budejovice Czech Republic

Department of Botany Mahendra Morang Adarsh Multiple Campus Tribhuvan University Biratnagar Nepal

Global Change Research Institute Czech Academy of Sciences Ceske Budejovice Czech Republic

Nepal Academy of Science and Technology Khumaltar Nepal

Yunnan Key Laboratory of Forest Ecosystem Stability and Global Change Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences Menglun 666303 Yunnan China

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