Abstract
Both endophytic and mycorrhizal fungi interact with plants to form symbiosis in which the fungal partners rely on, and sometimes compete for, carbon (C) sources from their hosts. Changes in photosynthesis in host plants caused by atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) enrichment may, therefore, influence those mutualistic interactions, potentially modifying plant nutrient acquisition and interactions with other coexisting plant species. However, few studies have so far examined the interactive controls of endophytes and mycorrhizae over plant responses to atmospheric CO 2 enrichment. Using Festuca arundinacea Schreb and Plantago lanceolata L. as model plants, we examined the effects of elevated CO 2 on mycorrhizae and endophyte ( Neotyphodium coenophialum) and plant nitrogen (N) acquisition in two microcosm experiments, and determined whether and how mycorrhizae and endophytes mediate interactions between their host plant species. Endophyte‐free and endophyte‐infected F. arundinacea varieties, P. lanceolata L., and their combination with or without mycorrhizal inocula were grown under ambient (400 μmol mol −1 ) and elevated CO 2 (ambient + 330 μmol mol −1 ). A 15 N isotope tracer was used to quantify the mycorrhiza‐mediated plant acquisition of N from soil. Elevated CO 2 stimulated the growth of P. lanceolata greater than F. arundinacea , increasing the shoot biomass ratio of P. lanceolata to F. arundinacea in all the mixtures. Elevated CO 2 also increased mycorrhizal root colonization of P. lanceolata , but had no impact on that of F. arundinacea . Mycorrhizae increased the shoot biomass ratio of P. lanceolata to F. arundinacea under elevated CO 2 . In the absence of endophytes, both elevated CO 2 and mycorrhizae enhanced 15 N and total N uptake of P. lanceolata but had either no or even negative effects on N acquisition of F. arundinacea , altering N distribution between these two species in the mixture. The presence of endophytes in F. arundinacea , however, reduced the CO 2 effect on N acquisition in P. lanceolata , although it did not affect growth responses of their host plants to elevated CO 2 . These results suggest that mycorrhizal fungi and endophytes might interactively affect the responses of their host plants and their coexisting species to elevated CO 2 .