The white mat you found was not mycorrhizae. Mycorrhizae that infect (inoculate) roots of cypress family trees (including redwood; and probably giant sequoia as well) are internal (Endomycorrhizae, also called VA mycorrhizae)so you'd have to dissect the roots to see them. Ectomycorhizae that infect members of the pine, birch, beech, walnut, etc. families form a sheath around the outside of the roots and cause dichotomous branching (branching in two's).

Generally, not worth buying - if you're anywhere near woodland with natural mycorrhizal populations, the spores will soon colonise your plants naturally.

Resin

No, the white "mat" (it wasn't a mat, it was more like an intricate white web) I found was most definitely fungal hyphae of some sort. Whether it was beneficial to the sequoiadendrons growing there or not is probably the only thing that could be argued. It most certainly wasn't harming them.

As for procuring it from nearby soil, well, the nearby soil in oakland is nasty and filled with polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons and a "wealth" of other carcinogenic and disappointing substances, so I'm at a loss I guess. The land I was referring to was three hundred miles north of here.

Does anybody have any decent links to studies done on mychorrizal conifer associations?

One study I heard about compared a pseudotsuga grown in sterile medium with that of an inoculated medium and said the difference was outstanding.

"One study I heard about compared a pseudotsuga grown in sterile medium with that of an inoculated medium and said the difference was outstanding"

That would likely be true, but they would also have been performing the experiment in a situation where natural inoculation was deliberately prevented, as it would wreck the experiment.

I've often grown various conifer seedlings in pots indoors for their first few months, and by the time they are ready for potting up, they have acquired mycorrhiza naturally without any assistance from me. The spores of mycorrhizal fungi are ± constantly in the air in adequate quantities.

Resin

If you bring wood chips into your yard, you will most likely bring mychorriza. Spores are virtually anywhere trees are. The key is to leave the soil undisturbed once they get growing. I don't know if inoculants work, it may be one of those things that if conditions are right, they just grow on their own. I'm sure studies are being done, but I think it's almost a given now of the beneficial effects. This link isn't a study, in fact appears to be a reporter's simplistic angle, but page 3 will give a quick couple of 3 paragraphs of mychorriza benefits.

tj

Here is a link that might be useful: Fungus Amongus

SS, I've been interested in mycorrhyzal associates for twenty+ years by now. Though I can't direct you to a specific study at the moment, I can tell you that the most recent studies I've reviewed have all been dissapointing. Here, I mean when products are added to more or less natural, outdoor plantings. I remember a few cases cited where there was notable positive effect, and it was always in situations like mine spoils and the like-essentially sterile conditions with VERY poor soil to begin with. Until I see otherwise, it seems not cost- effective in normal outdoor landscape situations. I agree with the posters above, the spores are present in the air nearly anywhere, and the use of organic mulches like woodchips and/or shredded bark can promote the development of the desirable species.

+oM

Sequoiastiffy,
Do you have any photos of this grove? I'd love to see the progress.

Thanks,
Nate

Like Tom I have had an interest in this subject for many years, and I agree with his conclusions.

At one time one or two of the nurseries that produce pine and spruce seedlings advertized seedlings treated with mychorrizae. This is no longer available, which tells me that it did no good.

At one time I collected spores from fruiting bodies of a fungus that was growing out of the roots of my Norway spruce trees and applied it to the roots of seedlings I was planting. I believe the fungus was a mychorrizal fungus, but I could detect no positive effect of my applications compared to trees not treated.

I agree with the idea that these fungi are ubiquitous and trees link up with them very quickly on their own.

I do have one speculation, however, and it is only a speculation. And that is that there are many different species of mychorrizal fungi and that some may produce a more strongly beneficial effect with some species of trees than others. In this regard, I have also speculated on the reason why I see so many Norway spruce trees seeming to look better and better in recent years in a fairly broad area of MD, VA, and WV where I frequently drive. I called professor Edwin White, Dean of Research at the School of Environmental Science and forestry at SUNY Syracuse and asked him if what I was seeing could possibly be the result of a mychorrizal fungus previously unavailable here.
His response what that this was very unlikely, but also that he couldn't entirely rule out the possibility. I think that there is much we don't know about mychorrizal fungi, and one of the reason is that the kind of research needed can be very difficult, and to this point it is unclear how valuable it would really be.

--Spruce

i enjoyed reading this ... no real knowledge .. but that wont stop me.. lol ...

it seems that the bottom line.. is ... once again ...

amendments are NOT really worth the money they cost ... for trees/shrubs/conifers ... yes???... no????

does that sum it up properly ... or did i miss something??

ken

PS: in your post with the pix of the same area ... i presumed the white strands were a fungus that was breaking down the natural refuse on the forest floor ... i see it all the time in the decaying woodchips i spread around my yard ... not necessarily just trees et al ...

When first I became interested in mycorrhyzal associates-and please believe me when I say there are folks who could talk circles around me on this subject-it did seem to be in its' infancy, the understanding, that is. Back then, it was treated almost as an oddity of nature, not one of the fundamental processes. Now, it seems that numerous associations have been discovered, both endo and ecto. And while commercial preparations might not yet be worth using, I personally feel this to be an exciting area of research. And, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the science has arrived at the point where MOST forest-grown trees will be in symbiosis with a fungus or three.

I was briefly a member of the Wisconsin Mycological Society, and it was fantastic to go on forays. Here of course, the focus was on mushrooms-readily observable fungal species, and there certainly did seem to be patterns in the woods, ie. certain species being more often found under certain tree species.

Pinetree30, anyone, do you think it true that mycorrhyzal associates are more the norm than the exception?

+oM

"do you think it true that mycorrhyzal associates are more the norm than the exception?"

Yes. I'd say it is very rare (if not unknown) for trees not to have them, at least in temperate regions.

Resin