title: Symbiont dynamics during ecosystem succession: co-occurring plant and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities.
abstract: Although mycorrhizas are expected to play a key role in community assembly during ecological succession, little is known about the dynamics of the symbiotic partners in natural systems. For instance, it is unclear how efficiently plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi disperse into early successional ecosystems, and which, if either, symbiotic partner drives successional dynamics. This study describes the dynamics of plant and AM fungal communities, assesses correlation in the composition of plant and AM fungal communities and compares dispersal limitation of plants and AM fungi during succession. We studied gravel pits 20 and 50 years post abandonment and undisturbed grasslands in Western Estonia. The composition of plant and AM fungal communities was strongly correlated, and the strength of the correlation remained unchanged as succession progressed, indicating a stable dependence among mycorrhizal plants and AM fungi. A relatively high proportion of the AM fungal taxon pool was present in early successional sites, in comparison with the respective fraction of plants. These results suggest that AM fungi arrived faster than plants and may thus drive vegetation dynamics along secondary vegetation succession.
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu 51005, Estonia david.garciadeleon@ut.ee.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: García de León
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu 51005, Estonia.
authors.forename: Mari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moora
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu 51005, Estonia.
authors.forename: Maarja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Öpik
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu 51005, Estonia.
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Neuenkamp
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu 51005, Estonia.
authors.forename: Maret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gerz
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu 51005, Estonia.
authors.forename: Teele
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jairus
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu 51005, Estonia.
authors.forename: Martti
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vasar
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu 51005, Estonia.
authors.forename: C Guillermo
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Bueno
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu 51005, Estonia.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Davison
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu 51005, Estonia.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zobel
mesh_terms: D017753:Ecosystem; D004957:Estonia; D005658:Fungi / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D038821:Mycorrhizae / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D010944:Plants / Q000382:microbiology*; D013559:Symbiosis
keywords: arbuscular mycorrhiza; chronosequence; covariation; dispersal limitation; plant-fungal interactions; species pool