Dear Colleagues,
I just wished to follow up on Howies' comments with the interjection of mycorrhizas into the mix. Salix species have the ability to grow without mycorrhizas, with arbuscular mycorrhizas or with a unique set of ectomycorrhizal fungi. Arctic and alpine Salix seem most often to form ectomycorrhizas, but really haven't been studied in great detail. I have just returned from work on the Beartooth Plateau where we observed a number of ectomycorrhizal symbionts found that represent a circumpolar set of species. If interested check the link to photos - these to me begs the question of the carbon costs of these mutualists in this environment. PS - we saw many bees involved in pollination - but I couldn't tell you to what taxa they belong. http://picasaweb.google.com/antibusr/Salix?authkey=xtrHP84eukc Regards, Bob A Robert K. Antibus Chair Science Department Professor of Biology Bluffton University Bluffton, OH 45817
