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NITROGEN FIXATION IN THE BAYBERRY (MYRICA PENSYLVANICA) AND ITS ROLE IN COASTAL SUCCESSION
Author(s) -
Morris M.,
Eveleigh D. E.,
Riggs S. C.,
Tiffney W. N.
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
american journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.218
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1537-2197
pISSN - 0002-9122
DOI - 10.1002/j.1537-2197.1974.tb12311.x
Subject(s) - biology , myrica rubra , nitrogen fixation , ecological succession , botany , endophyte , ecology , bacteria , paleontology
The nodules on roots of Myrica pensylvanica (bayberry) contain a bacterial endophyte. By using the acetylene reduction technique these plant endophyte associations were shown to be capable of fixing nitrogen. As nodulation was plentiful and fixation vigorous, it is proposed that the success of M. pensylvanica as an early successional plant of dunes and impoverished coastal soils is due in part to the nitrogen‐fixing capacity of its nodular association.