title: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities along a pedo-hydrological gradient in a Central Amazonian terra firme forest.
abstract: Little attention has been paid to plant mutualistic interactions in the Amazon rainforest, and the general pattern of occurrence and diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in these ecosystems is largely unknown. This study investigated AMF communities through their spores in soil in a 'terra firme forest' in Central Amazonia. The contribution played by abiotic factors and plant host species identity in regulating the composition, abundance and diversity of such communities along a topographic gradient with different soils and hydrology was also evaluated. Forty-one spore morphotypes were observed with species belonging to the genera Glomus and Acaulospora, representing 44 % of the total taxa. Soil texture and moisture, together with host identity, were predominant factors responsible for shaping AMF communities along the pedo-hydrological gradient. However, the variability within AMF communities was largely associated with shifts in the relative abundance of spores rather than changes in species composition, confirming that common AMF species are widely distributed in plant communities and all plants recruited into the forest are likely to be exposed to the dominant sporulating AMF species.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Coordenação de Biodiversidade (CBIO), Av. Efigênio Sales, 2239, Campus III CP 478, CEP 69011-970, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rejane
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: de Oliveira Freitas
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Buscardo
authors.forename: Laszlo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nagy
authors.forename: Alex Bruno
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: dos Santos Maciel
authors.forename: Rosilaine
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Carrenho
authors.forename: Regina C C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Luizão
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D001938:Brazil; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D038821:Mycorrhizae / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology*; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000166:cytology; D014197:Trees / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D012987:Soil