Phosphorus Limitation of Trees Influences Forest Soil Fungal Diversity in China

Abstract

Fungal-biogeography studies have shown global patterns of biotic interactions on microbial biogeography. However, the mechanisms underlying these patterns remain relatively unexplored. To determine the dominant factors affecting forest soil fungal diversity in China, soil and leaves from 33 mountain forest reserves were sampled, and their properties were measured. We tested three hypotheses and established the most realistic one for China. The results showed that the soil fungal diversity (Shannon index) varied unimodally with latitude. The relative abundance of ectomycorrhizae was significantly positively correlated with the leaf nitrogen/phosphorus. The effects of soil available phosphorus and pH on fungal diversity depended on the ectomycorrhizal fungi, and the fungal diversity shifted by 93% due to available phosphorus, potassium, and pH. Therefore, we concluded that latitudinal changes in temperature and the variations in interactions between different fungal guilds (ectomycorrhizal, saprotrophic, and plant pathogenic fungi) did not have a major influence. Forest soil fungal diversity was affected by soil pH, available phosphorus, and potassium, which are driven by the phosphorus limitation of trees.

Climate factors affect forest biomass allocation by altering soil nutrient availability and leaf traits

“…Natural forest ecosystems exhibit superior functionality and a stronger resilience to climate change compared with planted forests (Yu et al, 2019). Plants in natural forests employ strategies such as stimulating soil microorganisms through increased root exudates to enhance nutrient acquisition, instead of solely increasing BGB (Song et al, 2018; Liu et al, 2022; Zheng and Song, 2022). Consequently, the treatment effect coefficients of PC1 and PC2 on BGBP exhibited opposite directions and offset each other in natural forests.…”

“…In addition to increasing their BGB, plants have various mechanisms to improve absorption of nutrients (such as nitrogen [N] and phosphorus [P]) without increasing their root biomass; for instance, they can enhance root exudation to stimulate soil microorganisms, leading to the decomposition of soil organic matter and the enhanced acquisition of nutrients (Song et al, 2018; Zheng and Song, 2022; Liu et al, 2022). The specific way a plant responds, particularly whether it involves increasing root biomass or stimulating beneficial microorganisms, largely depends on local soil conditions, particularly nutrient (N and P) limitations and pH, due to the complex ecological competition, and symbiotic relationships between roots and soil microorganisms (Song and Zhou, 2021; Zheng and Song, 2022; Zhou et al, 2022).…”

The effect of aboveground long-term low-dose ionizing radiation on soil microbial diversity and structure

“…Additionally, ectomycorrhizal fungi can help plants absorb soil nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus (Liu et al, 2022), and are beneficial for carbon fixation (Zak et al, 2019). Thus, ectomycorrhizal fungi improve the nutritional status of plants damaged by radiation (Li et al, 2022), increase the soil C/N ratio, and change the soil microbial diversity and community composition (Zheng and Song, 2022). However, more research is needed to prove that ectomycorrhizal fungi have the function of resisting radiation.…”

Negative Linear or Unimodal: Why Forest Soil Fungal Latitudinal Diversity Differs across China

“…The soil P content of forests on Hainan Island is higher than that of the continental forests at the same latitude, and C, N, P, and their ratios exhibit large spatial variations on the island ( 12 ). Nutrient-abundant soil improves microbial nutrition and the competitive advantage of fungi, thus increasing soil fungal richness ( 13 , 14 ). The diverse habitats with large spatial variations in soil nutrition were also found to be beneficial for soil fungal richness ( 15 ).…”