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Multiscale patterns and drivers of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in the roots and root‐associated soil of a wild perennial herb
Author(s) -
Rasmussen Pil U.,
Hugerth Luisa W.,
Blanchet F. Guillaume,
Andersson Anders F.,
Lindahl Björn D.,
Tack Ayco J. M.
Publication year - 2018
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/nph.15088
Subject(s) - biology , biodiversity , plantago , plant community , glomeromycota , community structure , ecology , arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi , perennial plant , spatial variability , arbuscular mycorrhizal , spatial ecology , beta diversity , botany , symbiosis , species richness , horticulture , statistics , genetics , mathematics , bacteria , inoculation
Summary Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi form diverse communities and are known to influence above‐ground community dynamics and biodiversity. However, the multiscale patterns and drivers of AM fungal composition and diversity are still poorly understood. We sequenced DNA markers from roots and root‐associated soil from Plantago lanceolata plants collected across multiple spatial scales to allow comparison of AM fungal communities among neighbouring plants, plant subpopulations, nearby plant populations, and regions. We also measured soil nutrients, temperature, humidity, and community composition of neighbouring plants and nonAM root‐associated fungi. AM fungal communities were already highly dissimilar among neighbouring plants ( c . 30 cm apart), albeit with a high variation in the degree of similarity at this small spatial scale. AM fungal communities were increasingly, and more consistently, dissimilar at larger spatial scales. Spatial structure and environmental drivers explained a similar percentage of the variation, from 7% to 25%. A large fraction of the variation remained unexplained, which may be a result of unmeasured environmental variables, species interactions and stochastic processes. We conclude that AM fungal communities are highly variable among nearby plants. AM fungi may therefore play a major role in maintaining small‐scale variation in community dynamics and biodiversity.