Decrease in diversity and changes in community composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in roots of apple trees with increasing orchard management intensity across a regional scale

Understanding which factors drive the diversity and community composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) is important due to the role of these soil microorganisms in ecosystem functioning and current environmental threats to AMF biodiversity. Additionally, in agro-ecosystems, this knowledge may help to evaluate their use in making agriculture more sustainable. Here, we used 454-pyrosequencing of small subunit rRNA gene amplicons to quantify AMF diversity and community composition in the roots of cultivated apple trees across 24 orchards in central Belgium. We aimed at identifying the factors (soil chemical variables, organic versus conventional farming, and geographical location) that affect AMF diversity and community composition. In total, 110 AMF OTUs were detected, of which the majority belonged to the Glomeraceae (73%) and the Claroideoglomeraceae (19%). We show that soil characteristics and farming system, rather than the geographical location of the orchards, shape AMF com...

丛枝菌根真菌（arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi，AMF）的多样性与群落组成驱动因子解析具有重要意义——这类土壤微生物在生态系统功能中发挥关键作用，且当前AMF生物多样性正面临各类环境威胁。此外，在农业生态系统中，此类研究成果可助力评估AMF的应用潜力，以推动农业可持续发展。本研究针对比利时中部24个果园的栽培苹果树根系，采用小亚基rRNA基因扩增子454焦磷酸测序技术，对AMF的多样性与群落组成进行定量分析。本研究旨在明确影响AMF多样性与群落组成的相关因子，包括土壤化学性质、有机与常规种植模式以及果园的地理位置。总计共检测到110个AMF操作分类单元（operational taxonomic units，OTU），其中绝大多数隶属于球囊霉科（Glomeraceae，73%）和近明球囊霉科（Claroideoglomeraceae，19%）。研究结果表明，AMF群落组成主要受土壤特性与种植制度影响，而非果园的地理位置。