| Citation | Distinguished for his many contributions to the study of interactions of green plants and fungi, especially the mycorrhizal associations and their ecological significance. He has made major advances in the understanding of mycorrhizal infections of the Ericaceae, Monotropaceae, and Cistaceae as well as those of forest trees. He has cleared up long-standing misinterpretations of their functions, and isolated and identified causative fungi of Ericaceae and studied them in culture.
In his studies of the uptake of nitrogen compounds and phosphate by the fungal mycelium he has shown how these substances as well as carbon compounds may move from plant to plant through the associated mycelium. He has emphasized the probable importance of such movement in ecological surroundings.
He has, in addition, made contributions to the knowledge of the effect of soil conditions, aerial pollution, and pathogens on the growth of trees. |