Our data suggest that selecting fungal ECM isolates based on(i) their capacity to adapt to the ultramafic abiotic stresses suchas presence of metals and unbalanced Ca/Mg ratio, and (ii) theirefficacy in improving plant growth and mineral nutrition, mightbe a prerequisite to use ECM as a biotechnological tool for inocu-lum in rehabilitation strategies of ultramafic ecosystems degradedby mining activities as suggested by O’Dell and Claassen (2011).In addition, our results confirm that the use of endemic plantsmight also a prerequisite to succeed in such strategies as previouslyreported by Jaffré et al. (1994).AcknowledgementThis work was supported by the GIP CNRT ‘Nickel and its Envi-ronment’ [grant number GIPCNRT98]. The authors thank L. Jametand all the staff of the Laboratoire des Moyens Analytiques (LAMA)from Centre IRD de Nouméa, New Caledonia.Appendix A. Supplementary dataSupplementary data associated with this article can befound, in the online version, at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jplph.2013.10.011