Controlled inoculation of reforestation seedlings with ectomycorrhizal fungi: current knowledge in Spain

Abstract

After the paper published by Pardos in 1962 a considerable effort of investigation on ectomycorrhizas has been done in Spain, especially during the last 20 years. In our article we review the progress achieved in our country concerning the knowledge of ectomycorrhizal fungi, in particular their use in the controlled inoculation of nursery grown plants for reforestation and revegetation purposes, and the performance of these mycorrhizal plants in experimental plantations. Published results mainly involve different conifer species inoculated with fungi belonging to the genera: Hebeloma, Laccaria, Pisolithus, Rhizopogon, Scleroderma or Suillus. These results show that controlled mycorrhizal inoculations with selected fungi improve the reforestation and revegetation processes in defined environmental situations, such as: reforestation of productive forest soils, both using native or introduced tree species, reforestation of set-aside agricultural lands, or revegetation of arid soils in the Mediterranean regions of Spain.