Methods Inorganic and amino acid N uptake by non-mycorrhizal and mycorrhizal Cymbidium goeringii seedlings, which were grown in pots in a greenhouse, was investigated using a ¹⁵N-labelling technique in which the tracer was injected at two different soil depths, 2·5 cm or 7·5 cm. Mycorrhizal C. goeringii seedlings were obtained by inoculation with three different mycorrhizal strains isolated from the roots of wild terrestrial orchids (two C. goeringii and one C. sinense).

Key Results Non-mycorrhizal C. goeringii primarily took up NO₃⁻ from tracers injected at 2·5-cm soil depth, whereas C. goeringii inoculated with all three mycorrhiza primarily took up NH₄⁺ injected at the same depth. Inoculation of the mycorrhizal strain MLX102 (isolated from adult C. sinense) on C. goeringii roots only significantly increased the below-ground biomass of the C. goeringii; however, it enhanced ¹⁵NH₄⁺ uptake by C. goeringii at 2·5-cm soil depth. Compared to the uptake of tracers injected at 2·5-cm soil depth, the MLX102 fungal strain strongly enhanced glycine-N uptake by C. goeringii from tracers injected at 7·5-cm soil depth. Cymbidium goeringii inoculated with CLB113 and MLX102 fungal strains demonstrated a similar N uptake pattern to tracers injected at 2·5-cm soil depth.

Conclusions These findings demonstrate that mycorrhizal fungi are able to switch the primary N source uptake of a terrestrial orchid, in this case C. goeringii, from NO₃⁻ to NH₄⁺. The reasons for variation in N uptake in the different soil layers may be due to possible differentiation in the mycorrhizal hyphae of the C. goeringii fungal partner.