Unraveling fertilization effects on the dynamics of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community in the Qinghai-Tibet Alpine Meadow

• Published in: Soil Ecology Letters 2024-12, Vol.6 (4), p.240248, Article 240248
• Main Authors: Liu, Longfei, Ren, Yi, Sun, Shuo, Liu, Chen, Ding, Kairui, Li, Rong, Zhang, Pengfei, Shen, Biao, Ravanbakhsh, Mohammadhossein, Xiong, Wu, Shen, Qirong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abiotic factors; Acaulospora; Agricultural ecosystems; Agricultural land; Anthropogenic factors; Arbuscular mycorrhizas; Bioindicators; Biomass; Community composition; Community structure; Composition; Correlation; Diversispora; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Electrical conductivity; Electrical resistivity; Environment; Fertilization; Fertilizer application; Indicator species; Meadows; Microorganisms; Nitrogen; Nutrient availability; Phosphorus; Physicochemical properties; Plant biomass; Plant communities; Plant diversity; Plant growth; Research Article; Soil chemistry; Soil Microbial Ecology; Soil microorganisms; Soil pH; Soil properties; Soil Science & Conservation; Soils
• ISSN: 2662-2289; 2662-2297
• DOI: 10.1007/s42832-024-0248-0

Community structure and composition of AMF shifted under different fertilization. Soil physicochemical properties played important roles in contributing plant diversity and biomass. Fertilization affected plant and AMF communities through changing soil abiotic properties. Acaulospora and Diversispora were highly linked with plant communities. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) represent a crucial component of soil microorganisms, playing pivotal roles in promoting plant growth by enhancing nutrient availability. However, the responses of AMF communities to different fertilization regimes and their correlations with plant communities in the context of anthropogenic disturbances in alpine meadow ecosystems remain largely unexplored. In this study, we investigated the effects of nitrogen, phosphorus, and combined nitrogen-phosphorus fertilization on AMF communities and their interconnections with plant diversity and biomass based on a seven-year long-term experiment conducted on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Our results showed significant shifts in AMF community structure and composition under different fertilization treatments, while the richness of AMF exhibited no remarkable alterations. Notably, soil pH decreased, and electrical conductivity increased with the increasing nitrogen fertilizer application, emerging as pivotal abiotic factors in predicting plant richness and biomass. Fascinatingly, Acaulospora exhibited a positive correlation with plant richness, serving as an important bioindicator of plant richness, while Diversispora emerged as the primary bioindicator of plant biomass. Our findings shed light on potential correlations between AMF community composition and both plant and soil abiotic factors, driven by nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization. We advocate for the critical significance of balanced fertilization in sustaining beneficial plant–soil–AMF interactions in natural ecosystems as well as agricultural soils.