Precipitation shapes communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in Tibetan alpine steppe

0301 basic medicine 0303 health sciences Terrestrial ecology Science & Technology Rain Biodiversity Plants 15. Life on land Tibet Grassland Article 6. Clean water Environmental sciences Multidisciplinary Sciences 03 medical and health sciences ORGANIC-CARBON 13. Climate action Mycorrhizae PLANT COMPETITION Rhizosphere Science & Technology - Other Topics Phylogeny
DOI: 10.1038/srep23488 Publication Date: 2016-03-22T10:12:09Z
ABSTRACT
AbstractTibetan Plateau is one of the largest and most unique habitats for organisms including arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). However, it remains unclear how AMF communities respond to key environmental changes in this harsh environment. To test if precipitation could be a driving force in shaping AMF community structures at regional scale, we examined AMF communities associated with dominant plant species along a precipitation gradient in Tibetan alpine steppe. Rhizosphere soils were collected from five sites with annual precipitation decreasing from 400 to 50 mm. A total of 31 AMF operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were identified. AMF community composition varied significantly among sites, whereas AMF community composition did not vary among plant species. Path analysis revealed that precipitation directly affected AMF hyphal length density, and indirectly influenced AMF species richness likely through the mediation of plant coverage. Our results suggested that water availability could drive the changes of AMF communities at regional scale. Given the important roles AMF could play in the dynamics of plant communities, exploring the changes of AMF communities along key environmental gradients would help us better predict the ecosystem level responses of the Tibetan vegetation to future climate change.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL
Coming soon ....
REFERENCES (61)
CITATIONS (67)
EXTERNAL LINKS
PlumX Metrics
RECOMMENDATIONS
FAIR ASSESSMENT
Coming soon ....
JUPYTER LAB
Coming soon ....