Economic benefits obtained from Flagellaria guineensis, a climbing bamboo, by local people received attention in previous studies but little is known about its regeneration ecology in three different forest stand conditions, i.e. forest edges, forest gaps and mature closed-canopy stands. In the Eastern Cape of South Africa the species grows in the Transkei Coastal Forests. The main aim of this study was to assess the regeneration ecology of F. guineensis in those forests. The specific objectives were to describe the phenological state that would influence the flowering, fruiting and growth of the species, and to compare the culm (stem) development from the rhizome between the different forest stand conditions. Phenological comparison was done in forest edge and forest interior conditions two forests. Rating scales were applied to determine the phenological states of the presence and amount of flower buds, open flowers, fruits, shoots and seedlings. Development of F. guineensis was assessed by sampling clusters in the three different forest stand conditions in three forests. The observation made in two Transkei Coastal Forests indicate that F. guineensis regenerates by producing seed, new vegetative shoots from rootstocks and also shoots at the growing tips. The flowering and fruiting period occurred only in the rainy season in Mtambalala forest but both rainy and dry seasons in Bulolo forest. More flowers and fruits of F. guineensis were found in Bulolo forest and in the forest edge (where F. guineensis is able to form tangles on the canopy of its host tree) respectively. This climbing bamboo clings on any plant around it for support and forms tangles on the canopy of its host in forest edges with no direct damage caused to host trees. The production of seedlings, shoots from the rhizome and shoots at the growing tips was constant during the study period in both study sites. The growth pattern of F. guineensis was different when comparing the three Transkei Coastal Forests studied. Manubi forest was found to have clusters and culms with the highest diameters and length compared to Mtambalala and Mnenga forests. There was a significant difference in culm diameter and length of F. guineensis between all three forests, whereas cluster diameter and number of culms per cluster were not influenced by forest stand conditions. F. guineensis clusters were common in the forest edges or gaps, and formed tangles in the canopy of their host trees. The described pattern of growth of F. guineensis contributes to recovery of the forest edges or gaps by restricting easy movement in and out of the forests. Several recommendations were made for harvesting of culms for basketmaking, such as: it should be done with care to reduce tangles in the forest and tree canopies; it must take place during the dry season, when the culms in a cluster are not flowering or fruiting; and studies are needed on the growth rate of seedlings and their growth into the forest canopy and how the bamboo can be cultivated outside the forest for better production of culms. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / SAFCOL / Microbiology and Plant Pathology / MSc / Unrestricted

Abstract Mycorrhizal fungi are important contributors to the functioning of boreal forests, since they act in the bilateral carbon and nutrient transport between above- and belowground parts of the ecosystem. In ectomycorrhizal (ECM) symbiosis of woody host plants, both fungal and plant partners depend on resources provided by the other. A single tree may simultaneously host several ECM fungal partners, which greatly enhance the host's nutrient uptake. At the same time nearly 20% of host primary production is allocated to mycorrhizal fungi. Although fungi depend on host-derived carbon, it is poorly understood how reduced carbon availability, e.g., due to herbivory, affects the ECM fungal symbionts. In this thesis I studied the impact of simulated insect defoliation or mammal browsing on mycorrhizal fungi of boreal woody hosts. Quantitative and qualitative changes in biomass partitioning in different fungal compartments were detected. None of the experiments showed that defoliation or shoot clipping treatments reduced the intensity of ECM colonisation, while treatments often shifted fungal composition towards less biomass producing ECM morphotypes. Above- and belowground diversity in ECM symbionts tended to decrease due to shoot or foliar damage. In addition, in some cases defoliation also reduced fungal biomass in fine roots and decreased ECM sexual reproduction by reducing the number of sporocarps produced. Defoliation induced a similar response pattern in the host and in ECM fungi with a stronger response to increasing severity of treatment (e.g. degree of removed foliage or repeated years of defoliation). This was also confirmed when relating the effects of host and ECM fungal symbionts to defoliation using present and previously published data. The present results suggest that belowground adaptation of boreal trees to the changing environment is mediated by changes in fungal community or biomass partitioning. The lack of response in the intensity of ECM colonisation further emphasises the importance of the symbiosis to boreal trees.