title: Arbuscular mycorrhizal status of some Kashmir Himalayan alien invasive plants.
abstract: In view of the recently reported role of arbuscular mycorrhizas (AM) in plant invasions, we examined 63 alien plant species representing 26 families, collected from diverse habitat types in the Kashmir Himalaya, India, for the extent and type of their AM association. Based on the percent AM fungal root length colonization (% RLC), the investigated plants were categorized into five classes (class A = 0-5% RLC, class B = 6-25%, class C = 26-50%, class D = 51-75%, and class E = 76-100%). The number of species belonging to each of these classes was 7, 6, 22, 19, and 9, respectively. The AM colonization in 33 plant species was of Arum-type, 18 species was of Paris-type, and eight species harbored an intermediate type. Such baseline information on a large number of alien plants inhabiting diverse habitats in different biogeographical regions is needed for elucidating the role of AM fungi in alien plant invasions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, 190006, India. mashah75@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Manzoor A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, 190006, India.
authors.forename: Zafar A
authors.initials: ZA
authors.lastname: Reshi
authors.affiliation: Forest Research and Institute of Integrative Biology and Systems, University Laval, Quebec, GIV0A6, Canada.
authors.forename: Damase
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Khasa
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D019607:Brassicaceae / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000382:microbiology*; D017753:Ecosystem; D005658:Fungi / Q000254:growth & development; D007194:India; D038821:Mycorrhizae / Q000145:classification* / Q000254:growth & development*; D063245:Plant Development; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000382:microbiology; D010944:Plants / Q000145:classification / Q000382:microbiology*; D013045:Species Specificity