title: Plant assemblage composition and soil P concentration differentially affect communities of AM and total fungi in a semi-arid grassland.
abstract: Adding inorganic P- and N-fixing legumes to semi-arid grasslands can increase forage yield, but soil nutrient concentrations and plant cover may also interact to modify soil fungal populations, impacting short- and long-term forage production. We tested the effect of plant assemblage (seven native grasses, seven native grasses + the domesticated N-fixing legume Medicago sativa, seven native grasses + the native N-fixing legume Dalea purpurea or the introduced grass Bromus biebersteinii + M. sativa) and soil P concentration (addition of 0 or 200 P2O5 kg ha(-1) at sowing) on the diversity and community structure of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and total fungi over two consecutive years, using 454-pyrosequencing of 18S rDNA and ITS amplicons. Treatment effects were stronger in the wet year (2008) than the dry year (2009). The presence of an N-fixing legume with native grasses generally increased AM fungal diversity, while the interaction between soil P concentration and plant assemblage modified total fungal community structure in 2008. Excluding interannual variations, which are likely driven by moisture and plant productivity, AM fungal communities in semi-arid grasslands appear to be primarily affected by plant assemblage composition, while the composition of other fungi is more closely linked to soil P.
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity Centre, Institut de recherche en biologie végétale, Université de Montréal and Jardin botanique de Montréal, 4101 rue Sherbrooke est, Montreal, QC H1X 2B2, Canada Semiarid Prairie Agricultural Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, PO Box 1030, Airport Road, Swift Current, SK S9H 3X2, Canada Département de Sciences Biologique, Faculté des Sciences de Tunis, Université Tunis El-Manar, Campus universitaire, Tunis 1060, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Rim
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Klabi
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity Centre, Institut de recherche en biologie végétale, Université de Montréal and Jardin botanique de Montréal, 4101 rue Sherbrooke est, Montreal, QC H1X 2B2, Canada.
authors.forename: Terrence H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.affiliation: Semiarid Prairie Agricultural Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, PO Box 1030, Airport Road, Swift Current, SK S9H 3X2, Canada.
authors.forename: Chantal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hamel
authors.affiliation: Semiarid Prairie Agricultural Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, PO Box 1030, Airport Road, Swift Current, SK S9H 3X2, Canada.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iwaasa
authors.affiliation: Semiarid Prairie Agricultural Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, PO Box 1030, Airport Road, Swift Current, SK S9H 3X2, Canada.
authors.forename: Mike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schellenberg
authors.affiliation: Département de Sciences Biologique, Faculté des Sciences de Tunis, Université Tunis El-Manar, Campus universitaire, Tunis 1060, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Aly
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Raies
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity Centre, Institut de recherche en biologie végétale, Université de Montréal and Jardin botanique de Montréal, 4101 rue Sherbrooke est, Montreal, QC H1X 2B2, Canada marc.st-arnaud@umontreal.ca.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: St-Arnaud
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D044822:Biodiversity; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D005658:Fungi / Q000145:classification*; D065948:Grassland; D000455:Medicago sativa; D038821:Mycorrhizae / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D009586:Nitrogen Fixation; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000737:chemistry; D010944:Plants; D006109:Poaceae / Q000382:microbiology; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S / Q000235:genetics; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012988:Soil Microbiology
chemical_list: D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S; D012987:Soil; D010758:Phosphorus
keywords: 454-pyrosequencing; AM fungi; communities; phosphorus; plant assemblage; semi-arid grassland; total fungi