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Crop diversity enriches arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in an intensive agricultural landscape
Author(s) -
Guzman Aidee,
Montes Marisol,
Hutchins Leslie,
DeLaCerda Gisel,
Yang Paula,
Kakouridis Anne,
DahlquistWillard Ruth M.,
Firestone Mary K.,
Bowles Timothy,
Kremen Claire
Publication year - 2021
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.17306
Subject(s) - agroecosystem , monoculture , biology , polyculture , species richness , agronomy , biodiversity , agriculture , crop , agroforestry , crop diversity , ecology , tillage , fishery , aquaculture , fish <actinopterygii>
Summary Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are keystone symbionts of agricultural soils but agricultural intensification has negatively impacted AMF communities. Increasing crop diversity could ameliorate some of these impacts by positively affecting AMF. However, the underlying relationship between plant diversity and AMF community composition has not been fully resolved. We examined how greater crop diversity affected AMF across farms in an intensive agricultural landscape, defined by high nutrient input, low crop diversity and high tillage frequency. We assessed AMF communities across 31 field sites that were either monocultures or polycultures (growing > 20 different crop types) in three ways: richness, diversity and composition. We also determined root colonization across these sites. We found that polycultures drive the available AMF community into richer and more diverse communities while soil properties structure AMF community composition. AMF root colonization did not vary by farm management (monocultures vs polycultures), but did vary by crop host. We demonstrate that crop diversity enriches AMF communities, counteracting the negative effects of agricultural intensification on AMF, providing the potential to increase agroecosystem functioning and sustainability.