Reduced aboveground tree growth associated with higher arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal diversity in tropical forest restoration

Establishing diverse mycorrhizal fungal communities is considered important for forest recovery, yet mycorrhizae may have complex effects on tree growth depending on the composition of fungal species present. In an effort to understand the role of mycorrhizal fungi community in forest restoration in southern Costa Rica, we sampled the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) community across eight sites that were planted with the same species (Inga edulis, Erythrina poeppigiana, Terminalia amazonia, and Vochysia guatemalensis) but varied twofold to fourfold in overall tree growth rates. The AMF community was measured in multiple ways: as percent colonization of host tree roots, by DNA isolation of the fungal species associated with the roots, and through spore density, volume, and identity in both the wet and dry seasons. Consistent with prior tropical restoration research, the majority of fungal species belonged to the genus Glomus and genus Acaulospora, accounting for more than half of the...构建多样的菌根真菌群落被认为对森林恢复至关重要，然而菌根对树木生长的影响较为复杂，这取决于所在真菌类群的组成。为探究菌根真菌群落在哥斯达黎加南部森林恢复中的作用，我们在8个样地中开展了丛枝菌根真菌（arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal, AMF）群落采样：这些样地均种植了相同的4个树种（Inga edulis、Erythrina poeppigiana、Terminalia amazonia及Vochysia guatemalensis），但整体树木生长速率存在2倍至4倍的差异。我们通过多种方式对AMF群落进行测定：包括宿主树木根系的菌根侵染百分比、根系关联真菌类群的DNA分离，以及在湿季和干季分别测定的孢子密度、孢子体积与孢子种类鉴定。与此前的热带恢复研究结果一致，绝大多数真菌类群隶属于格孢囊霉属（Glomus）和无梗囊霉属（Acaulospora），占总类群的一半以上……