Host plant height explains the effect of nitrogen enrichment on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities

Abstract

center dot Nitrogen (N) enrichment is widely known to affect the root-associated arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) community in different ways, for example, via altering soil properties and/or shifting host plant functional structure. However, empirical knowledge of their relative importance is still lacking.center dot Using a long-term N addition experiment, we measured the AMF community taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity at the single plant species (roots of 15 plant species) and plant community (mixed roots) levels. We also measured four functional traits of 35 common plant species along the N addition gradient.center dot We found divergent responses of AMF diversity to N addition for host plants with different innate heights (i.e. plant natural height under unfertilized treatment). Furthermore, our data showed that species-specific responses of AMF diversity to N addition were negatively related to the change in maximum plant height. When scaling up to the community level, N addition affected AMF diversity mainly through increasing the maximum plant height, rather than altering soil properties.center dot Our results highlight the importance of plant height in driving AMF community dynamics under N enrichment at both species and community levels, thus providing important implications for understanding the response of AMF diversity to anthropogenic N deposition.

Keywords

alpine meadow; cost-benefit relationship; fertilization; light competition; plant trait; symbiotic fungi

Published in

New Phytologist
2023, volume: 240, number: 1, pages: 399-411
Publisher: WILEY

SLU Authors

• Maaroufi, Nadia

  • Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • University of Bern

UKÄ Subject classification

Soil Science

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.19140

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/122964