title: The role of arbuscular mycorrhizas in reducing soil nutrient loss.
abstract: Substantial amounts of nutrients are lost from soils via leaching and as gaseous emissions. These losses can be environmentally damaging and expensive in terms of lost agricultural production. Plants have evolved many traits to optimize nutrient acquisition, including the formation of arbuscular mycorrhizas (AM), associations of plant roots with fungi that acquire soil nutrients. There is emerging evidence that AM have the ability to reduce nutrient loss from soils by enlarging the nutrient interception zone and preventing nutrient loss after rain-induced leaching events. Until recently, this important ecosystem service of AM had been largely overlooked. Here we review the role of AM in reducing nutrient loss and conclude that this role cannot be ignored if we are to increase global food production in an environmentally sustainable manner.
authors.affiliation: School of Agriculture, Food, and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Waite Campus, PMB 1, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia. Electronic address: timothy.cavagnaro@adelaide.edu.au.
authors.forename: Timothy R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Cavagnaro
authors.affiliation: Plant-Soil Interactions, Institute for Sustainability Sciences, Agroscope, 8046 Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: S Franz
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Bender
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrood University, Shahrood, Iran.
authors.forename: Hamid R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Asghari
authors.affiliation: Plant-Soil Interactions, Institute for Sustainability Sciences, Agroscope, 8046 Zürich, Switzerland; Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zürich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland; Plant-Microbe Interactions, Institute of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marcel G A van der
authors.initials: MGAV
authors.lastname: Heijden
mesh_terms: D017753:Ecosystem; D038821:Mycorrhizae / Q000378:metabolism*; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D012988:Soil Microbiology
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D010758:Phosphorus; D009584:Nitrogen
keywords: arbuscular mycorrhizas; leaching; nitrogen; nutrient loss; phosphorus