title: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus responses to disturbance are context-dependent.
abstract: Anthropogenic disturbance is one of the most important forces shaping soil ecosystems. While organisms that live in the soil, such as arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, are sensitive to disturbance, their response is not always predictable. Given the range of disturbance types and differences among AM fungi in their growth strategies, the unpredictability of the responses of AM fungi to disturbance is not surprising. We investigated the role of disturbance type (i.e., soil disruption, agriculture, host perturbation, and chemical disturbance) and fungus identity on disturbance response in the AM symbiosis. Using meta-analysis, we found evidence for differential disturbance response among AM fungal species, as well as evidence that particular fungal species are especially susceptible to certain disturbance types, perhaps because of their life history strategies.
authors.affiliation: Biology, University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7, Canada.
authors.forename: Mieke
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van der Heyde
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Sustainability, Lakeshore Campus, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60660, USA.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ohsowski
authors.affiliation: School of Earth and Environment, The UWA Institute of Agriculture, Faculty of Science, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6001,, Australia.
authors.forename: Lynette K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Abbott
authors.affiliation: Biology, University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7, Canada. Miranda.hart@ubc.ca.
authors.forename: Miranda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hart
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D004777:Environment; D038821:Mycorrhizae / Q000502:physiology*; D018517:Plant Roots; D012987:Soil; D012988:Soil Microbiology
chemical_list: D012987:Soil
keywords: AMF; Agriculture; Disturbance types; Life history strategies; Root colonization