Amy Lindahl

Amy Lindahl

B.A. Biology, Grinnell College 1999

Research Interests: Most land plants are involved in an intimate, mutualistic relationship with fungi, called mycorrhizae. In this interaction, the underground fungi derive their carbon nutrition from their plant hosts. Conversely, the fungi are capable of providing, phosphorus, water, and other resources to the plant. Because many of these fungi form physical linkages between their plant hosts, plants are thought to share a functioning common mycorrhizal network (CMN). If this network is significant, interactions between plants may be greatly misunderstood. I am currently involved in a grant studying the biocomplexity of CMNs in the oak ecosystems of California and Oregon. We hope to gain a deeper understanding of the fungi and plants involved in these networks, and how these relationships affect ecosystem dynamics. I am specifically going to address the connections between multiple CMNs and nutrient movement between these systems.