The abundance and diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are linked to the soil chemistry of screes and to slope in the Alpic paleo-endemic Berardia subacaulis.

ABSTRACT: Berardia subacaulis Vill. is a monospecific genus that is endemic to the South-western Alps, where it grows on alpine screes, which are extreme habitats characterized by soil disturbance and limiting growth conditions. Root colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) is presumably of great importance in these environments, because of its positive effect on plant nutrition and stress tolerance, as well as on structuring the soil. However, there is currently a lack of information on this topic. In this paper, we tested which soil characteristics and biotic factors could contribute to determining the abundance and community composition of AMF in the roots of B. subacaulis, which had previously been found to be mycorrhizal. For such a reason, the influence of soil properties and environ

SUBMITTER: Casazza G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5305098 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature