Contrasting Effects of Grazing in Shaping the Seasonal Trajectory of Foliar Fungal Endophyte Communities on Two Semiarid Grassland Species.

ABSTRACT: Fungal endophytes are harboured in the leaves of every individual plant host and contribute to plant health, leaf senescence, and early decomposition. In grasslands, fungal endophytes and their hosts often coexist with large herbivores. However, the influence of grazing by large herbivores on foliar fungal endophyte communities remains largely unexplored. We conducted a long-term (18 yr) grazing experiment to explore the effects of grazing on the community composition and diversity of the foliar fungal endophytes of two perennial grassland species (i.e., Artemisia capillaris and Stipa bungeana) across one growing season. Grazing significantly increased the mean fungal alpha diversity of A. capillaris in the early season. In contrast, grazing significantly reduced the m

SUBMITTER: Dong X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10608051 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature