Most arid and semiarid rangeland plants form a mycorrhizal symbiosis with certain fungi through which the host plants absorb water and nutrients from the soil. Small mammals are known to disperse viable spores of hypogeous, mycorrhizal fungi in forests, but little is known about small mammals as vectors of fungal spores in rangelands. We therefore examined the stomach contents of 575 mammals (16 genera, 26 species) for fungal spores. Spores of hypogeous, mycorrhizal fungi, representing 15 genera, were identified from 21% of the mammals. Although wind and water are thought to be the main means of dispersal for fungal spores in rangelands, a variety of mammals may be locally important in dispersing spores of mycorrhizal fungi. This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020
Scholarly peer-reviewed articles published by the Society for Range Management. Access articles on a rolling-window basis from vol. 1, 1948 up to 5 years from the current year. Formerly Journal of Range Management (JRM). More recent content is available by subscription from SRM.