Response of AM fungi spore population to elevated temperature and nitrogen addition and their influence on the plant community composition and productivity.
To examine the influence of elevated temperature and nitrogen (N) addition on species composition and development of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and the effect of AMF on plant community structure and aboveground productivity, we conducted a 5-year field experiment in a temperate meadow in northeast China and a subsequent greenhouse experiment. In the field experiment, N addition reduced spore population diversity and richness of AMF and suppressed the spore density and the hyphal length density (HLD). Elevated temperature decreased spore density and diameter and increased the HLD, but did not affect AMF spore population composition. In the greenhouse experiment, AMF altered plant community composition and increased total aboveground biomass in both elevated temperature and N addition treatments; additionally, AMF also increased the relative abundance and aboveground biomass of the grasses Leymus chinensis (Poaceae) and Setaria viridis (Gramineae) and significantly reduced the relative abundance and aboveground biomass of the Suaeda corniculata (Chenopodiaceae). Although elevated temperature and N addition can affect species composition or suppress the development of AMF, AMF are likely to play a vital role in increasing plant diversity and productivity. Notably, AMF might reduce the threat of climate change induced degradation of temperate meadow ecosystems.
Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun 130024, China.|State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China.
Tao
T
Zhang
Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun 130024, China.
Xue
X
Yang
Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Dryland Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing 100081, China.
Rui
R
Guo
Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun 130024, China.
Jixun
J
Guo
D044822:Biodiversity; D018533:Biomass; D038821:Mycorrhizae / Q000502:physiology*; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D010944:Plants / Q000382:microbiology*; D013172:Spores, Fungal; D013696:Temperature
D009584:Nitrogen