Depression of the soil arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community by the canopy gaps in a Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) plantation on Lushan Mountain, subtropical China
Guiwu Zou,
Yuanqiu Liu,
Fanqian Kong,
Liqin Liao,
Guanghua Deng,
Xueru Jiang,
Junhuo Cai,
Wei Liu
Affiliations
Guiwu Zou
Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Collaborative Innovation Center of Jiangxi Typical Trees Cultivation and Utilization, College of Forestry/College of Art and Landscape, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
Yuanqiu Liu
Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Collaborative Innovation Center of Jiangxi Typical Trees Cultivation and Utilization, College of Forestry/College of Art and Landscape, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
Fanqian Kong
Positioning Observation Station of Forest Ecosystem in Lushan, Lushan National Nature Reserve of Jiangxi, Jiujiang, Jiangxi, China
Liqin Liao
Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Collaborative Innovation Center of Jiangxi Typical Trees Cultivation and Utilization, College of Forestry/College of Art and Landscape, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
Guanghua Deng
Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Collaborative Innovation Center of Jiangxi Typical Trees Cultivation and Utilization, College of Forestry/College of Art and Landscape, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
Xueru Jiang
Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Collaborative Innovation Center of Jiangxi Typical Trees Cultivation and Utilization, College of Forestry/College of Art and Landscape, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
Junhuo Cai
Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Collaborative Innovation Center of Jiangxi Typical Trees Cultivation and Utilization, College of Forestry/College of Art and Landscape, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
Wei Liu
Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Collaborative Innovation Center of Jiangxi Typical Trees Cultivation and Utilization, College of Forestry/College of Art and Landscape, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
Both canopy gaps (CG) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play key roles in seedling establishment and increasing species diversity in forests. The response of AMF to canopy gaps is poorly understood. To assess the long-term effects of canopy gaps on soil AMF community, we sampled soil from plots in a 50-year Cryptomeria japonica (L.f.) D. Don. plantation, located in Lushan Mountain, subtropical China. We analyzed the AMF community, identified through 454 pyrosequencing, in soil and edaphic characteristics. Both richness and diversity of AMF in CG decreased significantly compared to the closed canopy (CC). The differences of the AMF community composition between CG and CC was also significant. The sharp response of the AMF community appears to be largely driven by vegetation transformation. Soil nutrient content also influenced some taxa, e.g., the low availability of phosphorus increased the abundance of Acaulospora. These results demonstrated that the formation of canopy gaps can depress AMF richness and alter the AMF community, which supported the plant investment hypothesis and accentuated the vital role of AMF–plant symbioses in forest management.
