Ecological drivers of fine-scale distribution of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in a semiarid Mediterranean scrubland.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi enhance the uptake of water and minerals by the plant hosts, alleviating plant stress. Therefore, AM fungal-plant interactions are particularly important in drylands and other stressful ecosystems. We aimed to determine the combined and independent effects of above- and below-ground plant community attributes (i.e. diversity and composition), soil heterogeneity and spatial covariates on the spatial structure of the AM fungal communities in a semiarid Mediterranean scrubland. Furthermore, we evaluated how the phylogenetic relatedness of both plants and AM fungi shapes these symbiotic relationships.

Methods

We characterized the composition and diversity of AM fungal and plant communities in a dry Mediterranean scrubland tax

SUBMITTER: Lopez-Angulo J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10457037 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature