Below-ground carbon transfer among Betula nana may increase with warming in Arctic tundra

Shrubs are expanding in Arctic tundra, but the role of mycorrhizal fungi in this process is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that mycorrhizal networks are involved in interplant carbon (C) transfer within a tundra plant community. Here, we installed below-ground treatments to control for C transfer pathways and conducted a (CO2)-C-13-pulse-chase labelling experiment to examine C transfer among and within plant species. We showed that mycorrhizal networks exist in tundra, and facilitate below-ground transfer of C among Betula nana individuals, but not between or within the other tundra species examined. Total C transfer among conspecific B. nana pairs was 10.7 +/- 2.4% of photosynthesis, with the majority of C transferred through rhizomes or root grafts (5.2 +/- 5.3%) and mycorrhizal network pathways (4.1 +/- 3.3%) and very little through soil pathways (1.4 +/- 0.35%). Below-ground C transfer was of sufficient magnitude to potentially alter plant interactions in Arctic tundra, increasing the competitive ability and mono-dominance of B. nana. C transfer was significantly positively related to ambient temperatures, suggesting that it may act as a positive feedback to ecosystem change as climate warms.