Data from: Succession of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi along a 52-year agricultural recultivation chronosequence

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi provide a range of functions in natural
and managed ecosystems. However, the trajectory of AM fungal diversity
after land degradation is poorly known. We studied the succession of AM
fungi along an agricultural recultivation chronosequence after open-cast
mining near Cologne, Germany. We used high-throughput sequencing of the
large-subunit ribosomal RNA genes to characterize the soil AM fungal
communities of 10 agricultural fields spanning 52 years of recultivation.
During three years, soils are recultivated with a legume, and then
converted to agriculture to be later returned to local farmers
implementing conventional agriculture. Our data reveal a quick and strong
recovery of AM fungal richness after a few years of recultivation, but
also a rapid decline following years of conventional agriculture. The
community structure was strongly correlated to mineral nitrogen and
phosphorus, richness peaking at high N:P ratio. This work represents the
first molecular data documenting temporal patterns of AM fungal
communities in agriculture; it shows the deleterious effect of
conventional agricultural practices on AM fungal communities developing
over time. Nonetheless, the highly dynamic nature of AM fungal communities
suggests strategies for site-level management for which considering N:P
stoichiometry is crucial.