Abstract
The effect of elevated nitrate [(NO3‐nitrogen (N)] or ammonium (NH4)‐N on the response of nonmycorrhizal (NM) and ectomycorrhizal (ECM) pitch pine (Pintis rigida Mill.) seedlings to aluminum (Al) was determined in experiments in which N was increased three times above ambient levels. Seedlings with and without the mycorrhizal fungus Pisolithus tinctorius (Pers.) Coker & Couch were grown in sand irrigated with nutrient solution (pH 3.8) containing 0, 10, or 20 mg Al L‐1 (0, 370, or 740 μM Al). The nutrient solution simulated that for the sandy, nutrient‐poor soil of the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Elevated NO3‐N had no significant effect on Al toxicity in NM seedlings, but Al toxicity at ambient NH4‐N was ameliorated by elevated NH4‐N. Symptoms of Al toxicity in roots (thick and stunted) of ECM seedlings at ambient N levels were reduced by elevated NH4‐N and absent at elevated NO3‐N. When N was elevated by an increase in NO3‐N or NH4‐N, uptake of N and relative increases in total biomass were greater in ECM than in NM seedlings.