Ericoid mycorrhiza (ERM) are expected to facilitate establishment of ericaceous plants in harsh habitats. However, diversity and driving factors of the root-associated fungi of ericaceous plants are poorly understood. In this study, hair-root samples of Vaccinium carlesii were taken from four forest types: old growth forests (OGF), secondary forests with once or twice cutting (SEC I and SEC II), and Cunninghamia lanceolata plantation (PLF). Fungal communities were determined using high-throughput sequencing, and impacts of human disturbances and the intra- and inter-annual variability of root-associated fungal community were evaluated. Diverse fungal taxa were observed and our results showed that (1) Intra- and inter-annual changes in root-associated fungal community were found, and the Basidiomycota to Ascomycota ratio was related to mean temperature of the sampling month; (2) Human disturbances significantly affected structure of root-associated fungal community of V. carlesii, and two secondary forest types were similar in root-associated fungal community and were closer to that of the old growth forest; (3) Plant community composition, edaphic parameters, and geographic factors significantly affected root-associated fungal communities of V. carlesii. These results may be helpful in better understanding the maintenance mechanisms of fungal diversity associated with hair roots of ERM plants under human disturbances.
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) form mutualisms with most plant species, and therefore, understanding how AMF communities will respond to climate change is essential for predictions of changes in plant communities. To evaluate the impact of global climate change on AMFs and plant-AMF interactions in a natural grassland in Inner Mongolia, both artificial warming and watering treatments were assigned to experimental plots. Our results indicate that (1) warming and precipitation significantly affected the relative spore abundance of abundant sporulating AMF species; (2) the relative abundance of weak sporulating AMF species and AMF diversity decreased under experimental warming; (3) evidence was found that the composition of the AMF community in a given year might be correlated with plant community composition in the following year; and (4) grasses and forbs showing different preferences to Claroideoglomus etunicatum or Ambispora gerdemannii dominated plots. Our results imply that climate change appears to induce changes in AMF assemblages with knock-on effects on grassland plant communities. AMF communities may play a much more important role than we have thought in the responses of ecosystem to global climate changes. global warming, precipitation increase, Arbuscular mycorrhiza, plant-AMF relations, grassland ecosystem Citation: Sun X F, Su Y Y, Zhang Y, et al. Diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal spore communities and its relations to plants under increased temperature and precipitation in a natural grassland.
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