Background and aims An overlooked fraction of the terrestrial carbon (C) pool is that associated with biogenic silica deposited in plants (phytoliths), so-called PhytOC. This fraction is small compared with the main C pools, but is of interest because it could be a long-term C sink as phytoliths may protect organic C from mineralization. However, the topic is hotly contested and unclear due to both methodological and theoretic...

Background and aims Proteaceae are a prominent plant family in south-western Australia. Most Proteaceae are ‘calcifuge’, occurring exclusively on old phosphorus (P)-impoverished acidic soils, with a few ‘soil-indifferent’ species also found on young P-richer calcareous soils. Calcium (Ca)-enhanced P toxicity explains the calcifuge habit of Proteaceae. However, previous research has so far been focused exclusively on the roles...

In contrast to the situation in plants inhabiting most of the world’s ecosystems, mycorrhizal fungi are usually absent from roots of the only two native vascular plant species of maritime Antarctica, Deschampsia antarctica and Colobanthus quitensis . Instead, a range of ascomycete fungi, termed dark septate endophytes (DSEs), frequently colonise the roots of these plant species. We demonstrate that colonisation of Antarctic va...