Agricultural disturbance reduces arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal diversity and biomass by excluding specialist species
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This study investigates how agricultural disturbance influences arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal diversity, biomass, and community niche structure. Utilizing niche concepts, we show that the AM fungal communities in intensively managed soils exhibited larger niche volumes and an increased proportion of culturable taxa, which negatively impacted biomass production. This process was primarily driven by the reduction in specialist taxa, indicating a functional homogenization of the community. Intensively disturbed low-biomass AM fungal communities were composed of species that can persist under low host abundance. Our findings reveal that intensive management disturbance significantly decreased AM fungal species richness and biomass simultaneously. Preserving AM fungal diversity is essential for maintaining their biomass and functionality, underscoring the detrimental effects of intensive agricultural practices on these critical soil organisms and their potential consequences for soil health and ecosystem functioning.
Source: New Phytologist
DOI: 10.1111/nph.70548
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDGs: Life on land, Zero hunger
Open Access status: green
Funder: Eesti Teadusagentuur
Awards: Biotic novelty of plant communities as an indicator of the diversity of plant-associated organisms, Plant-microbial mutualisms in dynamic ecosystems, Global study on the diversity of dust-associated bacteria, fungi, arthropods and pollen in homes, Soil FUNgi in the FARMing landscapes (FUNFARM), Unravelling the consequences and mechanisms of range expansions in plants by analysing aboveground-belowground ecological networks, G8891737255
OpenAlex ID: W4414028769