Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community composition affected by original elevation rather than translocation along an altitudinal gradient on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Abstract

Elucidating arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal responses to elevation changes is critical to improve understanding of microbial function in ecosystems under global asymmetrical climate change scenarios. Here we examined AM fungal community in a two-year reciprocal translocation of vegetation-intact soil blocks along an altitudinal gradient (3,200 m to 3,800 m) in an alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. AM fungal spore density was significantly higher at lower elevation than at higher elevation regardless of translocation, except that this parameter was significantly increased by upward translocation from original 3,200 m to 3,400 m and 3,600 m. Seventy-three operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of AM fungi were recovered using 454-pyrosequencing of 18S rDNA sequences at a 97% sequence similarity. Original elevation, downward translocation and upward translocation did not significantly affect AM fungal OTU richness. However, with increasing altitude the OTU richness of Acaulosporaceae and Ambisporaceae increased, but the OTU richness of Gigasporaceae and Glomeraceae decreased generally. The AM fungal community composition was significantly structured by original elevation but not by downward translocation and upward translocation. Our findings highlight that compared with the short-term reciprocal translocation, original elevation is a stronger determinant in shaping AM fungal community in the Qinghai-Tibet alpine meadow.

Factors affecting arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi of Chilean temperate rainforests

“…Although higher altitudes have been shown to have lower total fungal diversity (Shi et al, 2014;Yang et al, 2016), and this holds even at short elevational gradients (Marín et al, 2016), in our study AM fungal richness was not affected by altitude. Interestingly, though, AM fungal abundance (number of spores) increased with altitude irrespective of the mycorrhizal dominance of the forests or mountain system.…”

“…Conifers and species of Nothofagus have different altitudinal ranges spanning lowlands to the timberline (Godoy et al, 1994). Additionally, soil chemistry and altitude can greatly affect AM fungal diversity (Shi et al, 2014;Davison et al, 2015;Yang et al, 2016). Currently, base-line knowledge of diversity patterns of AM fungi of Chilean temperate rainforests, as well as how mountain system, mycorrhizal type of the dominant vegetation, soil chemistry, and altitude affect those patterns, remain unknown.…”

Patterns of root colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and dark septate endophytes across a mostly-unvegetated, high-elevation landscape

“…Samples from even lower elevation intact tundra meadows on Niwot Ridge (3500 m elevation) have shown over 80% colonization in some samples, which further supports this trend (Schmidt et al, 2008). This could be due to a lack of inoculum at high elevations (but see Marín et al, 2017 for increases with elevation), which could be a function of low plant density or a negative effect of cold temperature on AMF (Lugo et al, 2008;Yang et al, 2016). Since DSE are common in arctic and alpine environments, can tolerate cold temperatures (Mullen et al, 1998), and have been found in abundance at over 5250 m a.s.l.…”

Species composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal communities changes with elevation in the Andes of South Ecuador

“…[17] showed species richness decreasing with increasing elevation, whereas in the study of Yang et al . [15] elevation did not significantly affect AMF OTU richness. Egan et al .…”