Root traits explain rhizosphere fungal community composition among temperate grassland plant species

Summary While it is known that interactions between plants and soil fungi drive many essential ecosystem functions, considerable uncertainty exists over the drivers of fungal community composition in the rhizosphere. Here, we examined the roles of plant species identity, phylogeny and functional tra...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The New phytologist 2021-02, Vol.229 (3), p.1492-1507
Main Authors: Sweeney, Christopher J., Vries, Franciska T., Dongen, Bart E., Bardgett, Richard D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arbuscular mycorrhizas
Community composition
Composition
Ecosystem
Environmental changes
Flowers & plants
functional traits
Fungi
Grassland
Grasslands
Greenhouses
Herbivores
Mycobiome
Phylogeny
Plant Roots
Plant species
plant traits
Rhizosphere
root traits
Soil
soil fungi
Soil Microbiology
Soil microorganisms
Species
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Summary While it is known that interactions between plants and soil fungi drive many essential ecosystem functions, considerable uncertainty exists over the drivers of fungal community composition in the rhizosphere. Here, we examined the roles of plant species identity, phylogeny and functional traits in shaping rhizosphere fungal communities and tested the robustness of these relationships to environmental change. We conducted a glasshouse experiment consisting of 21 temperate grassland species grown under three different environmental treatments and characterised the fungal communities within the rhizosphere of these plants. We found that plant species identity, plant phylogenetic relatedness and plant traits all affected rhizosphere fungal community composition. Trait relationships with fungal communities were primarily driven by interactions with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and root traits were stronger predictors of fungal communities than leaf traits. These patterns were independent of the environmental treatments the plants were grown under. Our results showcase the key role of plant root traits, especially root diameter, root nitrogen and specific root length, in driving rhizosphere fungal community composition, demonstrating the potential for root traits to be used within predictive frameworks of plant–fungal relationships. Furthermore, we highlight how key limitations in our understanding of fungal function may obscure previously unmeasured plant–fungal interactions.
ISSN:0028-646X
1469-8137
DOI:10.1111/nph.16976