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Scaling‐up evaluation of field functioning of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
Author(s) -
Graham James H.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2008.02608.x
Subject(s) - microcosm , biology , context (archaeology) , monoculture , ecosystem , ecology , nutrient , mycorrhiza , plant community , glomus , arbuscular mycorrhizal , botany , symbiosis , species richness , colonization , paleontology , bacteria , genetics
An estimated 90% of terrestrial plants form symbiotic associa- tions with soil fungi, and the majority of those plant species belong to families that characteristically form associations with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi (Smith & Read, 1997). The function of these associations is largely based upon the transfer of carbon (C) from the plant to the fungus, and upon the transfer of mineral nutrients, mainly phosphorus (P), from the fungus to the host plant. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi may confer other benefits, including improved soil aggregate stability, plant-water relationships and resistance to plant pathogens, but these benefits have rarely been quantified in an ecosystem context (Newsham et al., 1995). '... , the costs and benefits ascribed to the association in microcosms are especially challenging to confirm in nature.'