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Soil aggregation and carbon sequestration are tightly correlated with the abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi: results from long‐term field experiments
Author(s) -
Wilson Gail W. T.,
Rice Charles W.,
Rillig Matthias C.,
Springer Adam,
Hartnett David C.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
ecology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.852
H-Index - 265
eISSN - 1461-0248
pISSN - 1461-023X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01303.x
Subject(s) - glomalin , ecosystem , abundance (ecology) , arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi , hypha , carbon sequestration , soil carbon , agronomy , environmental science , soil biology , biology , soil water , ecology , botany , arbuscular mycorrhizal , symbiosis , carbon dioxide , horticulture , inoculation , genetics , bacteria
We examined the role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in ecosystems using soil aggregate stability and C and N storage as representative ecosystem processes. We utilized a wide gradient in AMF abundance, obtained through long‐term (17 and 6 years) large‐scale field manipulations. Burning and N‐fertilization increased soil AMF hyphae, glomalin‐related soil protein (GRSP) pools and water‐stable macroaggregates while fungicide applications reduced AMF hyphae, GRSP and water‐stable macroaggregates. We found that AMF abundance was a surprisingly dominant factor explaining the vast majority of variability in soil aggregation. This experimental field study, involving long‐term diverse management practices of native multispecies prairie communities, invariably showed a close positive correlation between AMF hyphal abundance and soil aggregation, and C and N sequestration. This highly significant linear correlation suggests there are serious consequences to the loss of AMF from ecosystems.