Journal
FEMS MICROBIOLOGY ECOLOGY
Volume 92, Issue 12, Pages -Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiw186
Keywords
454 pyrosequencing; arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal diversity; community composition; host preference; land use; SSU rRNA gene
Categories
Funding
- 'Regione Toscana' ('Restoration of a Mediterranean Drained Peatland')
- European Regional Development Fund (Centre of Excellence EcolChange)
- Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna
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Land-use change is known to be a major threat to biodiversity and ecosystem services in Mediterranean areas. However, the potential for different host plants to modulate the effect of land-use intensification on community composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) is still poorly understood. To test the hypothesis that low land-use intensity promotes AMF diversity at different taxonomic scales and to determine whether any response is dependent upon host plant species identity, we characterised AMF communities in the roots of 10 plant species across four land use types of differing intensity in a Mediterranean peatland system. AMF were identified using 454 pyrosequencing. This revealed an overall low level of AMF richness in the peaty soils; lowest AMF richness in the intense cropping system at both virtual taxa and family level; strong modulation by the host plant of the impact of land-use intensification on AMF communities at the virtual taxa level; and a significant effect of land-use intensification on AMF communities at the family level. These findings have implications for understanding ecosystem stability and productivity and should be considered when developing soil-improvement strategies in fragile ecosystems, such as Mediterranean peatlands.
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