Arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization of Bursera bipinnata in the Sierra de Huautla, Morelos, México

Abstract

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are soil organisms that live symbiotically with the majority
of plants, providing them with benefits and advantages over plants not mycorrhizal. Colonization
of mycorrhizal fungi was determined arbuscular (AMF) in roots of chinese copal (Bursera
bipinnata) and plant species associated with three sites in the Sierra de Huautla in the State
of Morelos, Mexico. The sites were selected by their characteristics of vegetation, geomorphology,
and agricultural and livestock activity. The results obtained in three ecosystems studied
were compared by associating them with the characteristics of each site. Greater mycorrhizal
colonization was found at the site two, with 100% in copal and 56.8% in the associated plants.
This site has the highest proportion of limestone rocks, with vegetation of deciduous disrupted
and restricted grazing. Apparently, the presence of limestone rocks determines the colonization,
mycorrhizal in copal, not so in the associated plants.