Response of Pinus sylvestris seedlings to cadmium and mycorrhizal colonisation

Effects of Cd and mycorrhizal colonisation on seedling growth and Cd accumulation in Pinus sylvestris seedlings were studied. While colonisation by Suillus bovinus improved shoot growth, colonisation by Paxillus involutus had no effect on growth of seedlings. There was no Cd-ameliorating effect of colonisation in terms of either shoot or root growth. Colonisation by P. involutus did not decrease Cd transport from roots to shoots, whereas colonisation by S. bovinus significantly reduced the level of Cd in shoots in the 100 mg Cd kg-1 treatment. The proportion of healthy mycorrhizal root tips of S. bovinus-inoculated seedlings was reduced as a result of Cd addition. However, no such effect was found in P. involutus-inoculated seedlings