title: Type of mycorrhizal associations in two coastal nature reserves of the Mediterranean basin.
abstract: We analysed the mycorrhizal types of two coastal Mediterranean plant communities. Plants belonging to 82 species of 46 families growing in two Mediterranean study sites located within a Regional Natural Park in Italy (Macchia Lucchese) and in a National Park in Croatia (Brijuni) were assessed for the type of their mycorrhizal associations. Mycorrhizas occurred in 83% and 90% of the plant species surveyed in Macchia Lucchese and in Brijuni, respectively. On the basis of macroscopic and microscopic characteristics, six different mycorrhizal types were found, and their co-occurrence in the same plant community showed the large mycorrhizal diversity in Mediterranean vegetation. Different occurrence patterns of mycorrhizal types have been recognised in diverse habitats within Macchia Lucchese, from sand dune plant communities to sclerophyllous woodland. Mycorrhizal type abundance calculated on a floristic basis was very different from that obtained using a vegetation cover index.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica e Biotecnologie Agrarie, Università di Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maremmani
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bedini
authors.forename: Ivica
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Matosevic
authors.forename: Paolo E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Tomei
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Giovannetti
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D017523:Croatia; D017753:Ecosystem; D004777:Environment; D007558:Italy; D038821:Mycorrhizae / Q000502:physiology*; D010944:Plants