Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community response to warming and nitrogen addition in a semiarid steppe ecosystem

Understanding the response of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi to warming and nitrogen (N) fertilization is critical to assess the impact of anthropogenic disturbance on ecosystem functioning under global climate change scenarios. In this study, AM fungal communities were examined in a full factorial design with warming and N addition in a semiarid steppe in northern China. Warming significantly increased AM fungal spore density, regardless of N addition, whilst N addition significantly decreased AM fungal extraradical hyphal density, regardless of warming. A total of 79 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of AM fungi were recovered by 454 pyrosequencing of SSU rDNA. Warming, but not N addition, had a significant positive effect on AM fungal OTU richness, while warming and N addition significantly increased AM fungal Shannon diversity index. N addition, but not warming, significantly altered the AM fungal community composition. Furthermore, the changes in AM fungal community composition were associated with shifts in plant community composition indirectly caused by N addition. These findings highlight the different effects of warming and N addition on AM fungal communities and contribute to understanding AM fungal community responses to global environmental change scenarios in semiarid steppe ecosystems.