title: Fungi in the future: interannual variation and effects of atmospheric change on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities.
abstract: Understanding the natural dynamics of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and their response to global environmental change is essential for the prediction of future plant growth and ecosystem functions. We investigated the long-term temporal dynamics and effect of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2 ) and ozone (O3 ) concentrations on AM fungal communities. Molecular methods were used to characterize the AM fungal communities of soybean (Glycine max) grown under elevated and ambient atmospheric concentrations of both CO2 and O3 within a free air concentration enrichment experiment in three growing seasons over 5 yr. Elevated CO2 altered the community composition of AM fungi, increasing the ratio of Glomeraceae to Gigasporaceae. By contrast, no effect of elevated O3 on AM fungal communities was detected. However, the greatest compositional differences detected were between years, suggesting that, at least in the short term, large-scale interannual temporal dynamics are stronger mediators than atmospheric CO2 concentrations of AM fungal communities. We conclude that, although atmospheric change may significantly alter AM fungal communities, this effect may be masked by the influences of natural changes and successional patterns through time. We suggest that changes in carbon availability are important determinants of the community dynamics of AM fungi.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK.|School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK.|Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, Alfred Denny Building, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK.
authors.forename: T E Anne
authors.initials: TEA
authors.lastname: Cotton
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK.
authors.forename: Alastair H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Fitter
authors.affiliation: Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL, 60439, USA.
authors.forename: R Michael
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK.
authors.forename: Alex J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Dumbrell
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK.
authors.forename: Thorunn
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Helgason
mesh_terms: D001272:Atmosphere; D044822:Biodiversity; D017753:Ecosystem; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D038821:Mycorrhizae / Q000502:physiology*; D013025:Glycine max / Q000382:microbiology
keywords: 18S rRNA; Glomeromycota; arbuscular mycorrhizas; atmospheric change; free air concentration enrichment (FACE); microbial diversity; soil fungi; temporal dynamics