Diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal spore communities and its relations to plants under increased temperature and precipitation in a natural grassland

• Published in: Chinese science bulletin Vol. 58; no. 33; pp. 4109 - 4119
• Main Authors: Sun, XiuFeng, Su, YuanYing, Zhang, Ying, Wu, MingYu, Zhang, Zhe, Pei, KeQuan, Sun, LiFu, Wan, ShiQiang, Liang, Yu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.11.2013; Springer Berlin Heidelberg
• Subjects: botanical composition; Chemistry/Food Science; Claroideoglomus etunicatum; climate change; Earth Sciences; ecosystems; Engineering; fungal spores; grasslands; Humanities and Social Sciences; Life Sciences; multidisciplinary; mycorrhizal fungi; Physics; plant communities; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); temperature; vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizae; 丛枝菌根真菌; 全球气候变化; 多样性; 天然草场; 植物种类; 真菌孢子; 社区; 降水; China; plant-AMF relations; precipitation increase; global warming; grassland ecosystem
• ISSN: 1001-6538; 1861-9541
• DOI: 10.1007/s11434-013-5961-5

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi （AMF） form mutualisms with most plant species, and therefore, understanding how AMF commu- nities 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 water- ing treatments were assigned to experimental plots. Our results indicate that （1） warming and precipitation significantly affected the relative spore abundance of abundant sporulating AMF and AMF diversity decreased under experimental warming species; （2） the relative abundance of weak sporulating AMF species （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.