Tree mycorrhizal associations mediate soil fertility effects on forest community structure in a temperate forest

Soil fertility influences plant community structure, yet few studies have focused on how this influence is affected by the type of mycorrhizal association formed by tree species within local communities. We examined the relationship of aboveground biomass (AGB) and diversity of adult trees with soil...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Mao Z., Corrales Osorio, Adriana, Zhu K., Yuan Z., Lin F., Ye J., Hao Z., Wang X.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2019
País:Colombia
Institución:Universidad del Rosario
Repositorio:Repositorio EdocUR - U. Rosario
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repository.urosario.edu.co:10336/22661
Acceso en línea:https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.15742
https://repository.urosario.edu.co/handle/10336/22661
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Aboveground biomass
Arbuscular mycorrhiza
Community structure
Competition (ecology)
Ecosystem function
Ectomycorrhiza
Mycorrhiza
Plant community
Soil fertility
Species diversity
Temperate forest
China
Biomass
Forest
Microbiology
Physiology
Soil
Tree
Forests
Mycorrhizae
Trees
Arbuscular mycorrhizal trees
Competition
Ectomycorrhizal trees
Descripción
Sumario:Soil fertility influences plant community structure, yet few studies have focused on how this influence is affected by the type of mycorrhizal association formed by tree species within local communities. We examined the relationship of aboveground biomass (AGB) and diversity of adult trees with soil fertility (nitrogen, phosphorus, organic matter, etc.) in the context of different spatial distributions of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) and ectomycorrhizal (EM) trees in a temperate forest in Northeast China. Diversity showed a positive trend along the soil fertility gradient driven mostly by a positive relationship between AM tree abundance and soil fertility. By contrast, the AGB showed a negative trend along the soil fertility gradient driven mostly by a negative relationship between EM tree AGB and soil fertility. Furthermore, the opposite trend in the AGB and tree species diversity along the soil fertility gradient led to an overall negative diversity–biomass relationship at the 50-m scale but not the 20-m scale. These results suggest that tree mycorrhizal associations play a critical role in driving forest community structure along soil fertility gradients and highlight the importance of tree mycorrhizal associations in influencing how the diversity–ecosystem function (e.g. biomass) relationships change with soil fertility. © 2019 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2019 New Phytologist Trust