Shifts in the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community composition of Betula alnoides along young, middle-aged plantation and adjacent natural forest

Jing Y; Li T; Cui H; Li L; Allen SC; Chen L; Li Y; Zhao Z

doi:10.3832/ifor3515-013

iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry (Oct 2020)

Shifts in the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community composition of Betula alnoides along young, middle-aged plantation and adjacent natural forest

Jing Y,
Li T,
Cui H,
Li L,
Allen SC,
Chen L,
Li Y,
Zhao Z

Affiliations

Jing Y: Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization for Bioresources and Key Laboratory of Microbial Diversity in Southwest China, Ministry of Education, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091 Yunnan - China
Li T: Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization for Bioresources and Key Laboratory of Microbial Diversity in Southwest China, Ministry of Education, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091 Yunnan - China
Cui H: Yunnan Reascend Tobacoo Technology (group) co., Ltd., Kunming, 650106 Yunnan - China
Li L: College of Food Science and Technology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, 650201 Yunnan - China
Allen SC: Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Science Center, New Mexico State University, Farmington, NM 87401 - USA
Chen L: Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization for Bioresources and Key Laboratory of Microbial Diversity in Southwest China, Ministry of Education, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091 Yunnan - China
Li Y: Yunnan Academy of Forestry and Grassland, Kunming, 650201 Yunnan - China
Zhao Z: Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization for Bioresources and Key Laboratory of Microbial Diversity in Southwest China, Ministry of Education, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091 Yunnan - China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor3515-013
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 13, no. 1
pp. 447 – 455

Abstract

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Betula alnoides is a fast-growing and native timber species prevalently planted in tropical and subtropical areas of southern China. Despite the large-scale development of B. alnoides plantations, knowledge of its association with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) is limited. In the present study, we chose young (3-year-old sapling, P3y) and middle-aged (12-year-old stand, P12y) B. alnoides plantations and adjacent native forest (N) in the Puwen Tropical Forest Experimental Station located in Xishuangbanna prefecture of Yunnan Province, southwestern China, as study materials and explored the change in AMF community composition in the plantation chronosequence. In addition, we combined morphological methods and Illumina MiSeq sequencing techniques to analyze rhizosphere soil AMF. The results indicated that the AMF richness and diversity indexes of B. alnoides at two ages tended to be similar to those of natural growing trees in native forest. However, the specific AM fungal compositions were distinctly different, providing evidence of the conservation value of the native forest, which harbors a unique AMF diversity. Hierarchical cluster analysis further revealed that the AMF community composition of trees in the mid-aged stand (P12y) was more similar to that of naturally growing B. alnoides (N) than that of the young-aged trees (P3y), which proved the considerable resilience of AMF to the establishment of the B. alnoides plantation. A set of at least five soil properties (available phosphorus, available nitrogen, organic matter, total nitrogen and silt content) was found to play a significant role in shaping the AMF communities. These results contribute to the understanding of the impacts of B. alnoides plantations on AMF diversity and composition. Such information is critical for the efficient planting and sustainable management of B. alnoides plantations.

Published in iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry

ISSN: 1971-7458 (Online)
Publisher: Italian Society of Silviculture and Forest Ecology (SISEF)
Country of publisher: Italy
LCC subjects: Agriculture: Forestry
Website: https://iforest.sisef.org

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