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Abstract
Actinorhizal plants are nodulated by the symbiotic, nitrogen-fixing actinomycete
Frankia. The genus
Alnus in the family Betulaceae is one of the 25 genera in 8 families of angiospermous plants that are actinorhizal. Arizona alder (
Alnus oblongifolia Torr.) occurs in isolated populations associated with the watersheds of Madrean Sky Islands in the southwestern United States between 4,500 and 7,500 ft in elevation. We have found root nodules on alder trees from Oak Creek Canyon and from the Santa Catalina Mountains (southeastern and central Pima County to Oak Creek in Coconino County, Arizona). We describe the occurrence of nodules at two locations at opposite longitudinal ends of their range together with nodule anatomy and quantification of nodular nitrogenase activity in order to confirm symbiotic function of this actinorhizal system.
Parent Publication
Citation
Dawson, J. O.; Gottfried, G. J.; Hahn, D. 2005. Occurrence, structure, and function of the nitrogen-fixing microsymbiont
Frankia from nodules of Arizona alder [Abstract]. In: Gottfried, Gerald J.; Gebow, Brooke S.; Eskew, Lane G.; Edminster, Carleton B., comps. Connecting mountain islands and desert seas: biodiversity and management of the Madrean Archipelago II. Proc. RMRS-P-36. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station: 565
