I. eaf Litter and Leaf Age as Factors Affecting the Assemblage of Endophytes Associated with

Abstract

Particular importance has been given to the potential effect of forest canopy on enhancing the rate of initial endophytic fungi colonization of seedlings. Here we compare the rate of endophyte accumulation when endophyte-free seedlings are placed under intact forest canopies with intact or removed leaf litter. The results show a much more rapid accumulation of endophytes in the presence of intact leaf litter. This not only suggests that dead leaves appear to be a primary source of inoculum of foliar endophytic fungi (FEF) for leaves in the understory, it further suggests that local FEF sources (ie, the local litter) can dominate the cornposition of colonizing spores, The results of this experiment suggest a mechanism explaining reports of relatively fine scale local differentiation of HEF communities within the same host plant