Fungal root endophyte associations of plants endemic to the Pamir Alay Mountains of Central Asia.
The fungal root endophyte associations of 16 species from 12 families of plants endemic to the Pamir Alay Mountains of Central Asia are presented. The plants and soil samples were collected in Zeravshan and Hissar ranges within the central Pamir Alay mountain system. Colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) was found in 15 plant species; in 8 species it was of the Arum type and in 4 of the Paris type, while 3 taxa revealed intermediate arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) morphology. AMF colonization was found to be absent only in Matthiola integrifolia, the representative of the Brassicaceae family. The AM status and morphology are reported for the first time for all the species analyzed a…
Rapid change in forms of inorganic nitrogen in soil and moderate weed invasion following translocation of wet meadows to reclaimed post‐industrial land
Anthropogenic expansion and loss of natural environments calls for the more sustainable use of resources, including land. To combine the conservation of highly valuable meadow habitat with reclamation of post‐industrial land, 1.3 ha of turf were translocated from an urban area to basins constructed near an abandoned quarry. In contrast to the usual method of choosing similar habitats as salvage sites, the selected quarry possessed different environmental properties to the meadows, challenging their acclimatisation. To evaluate the project, we monitored three meadows (Molinion caeruleae alliance) for three seasons: immediately before the transfer and for 2 years afterwards. We recorded veget…
Is it possible to understand a book missing a quarter of the letters? Unveiling the belowground species richness of grasslands
Abstract Knowledge of species richness patterns in plant communities is biased toward its hidden belowground part and is derived only from the part visible aboveground. Studies on the relationship of the above- to belowground parts of plant communities suffer from the lack of a consistent and uniform approach to assess their taxonomic composition, particularly in species-rich ecosystems. This study described the proportion between above- and belowground parts of vegetation in three grassland types along with the environmental factors that affect them, using eDNA metabarcoding and an observer survey. The internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region was used to analyze the total plant richness…
Fungal root colonization and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi diversity in soils of grasslands with different mowing intensities
management that has changed in recent decades. The intensity of human-induced disturbances (primarily removal of plant biomass by various methods) has decreased, leading to changes in plant species composition and declines in plant diversity in these communities. So far, no studies have shown how mowing affects fungal communities in both roots and soils and their relation with plant community parameters and soil chemical properties in different grassland types. We thus compared the impact of mowing intensity (low, moderate, high) on root colonization by common root-inhabiting fungi, namely arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), dark septate endophytes (DSE), and Olpidium spp., as well as on AM…
Arbuscular mycorrhiza and fungal root endophytes of weeds in an altitudinal gradient in the Pamir Alai Mountains of Central Asia
Arbuscular mycorrhiza and fungal root endophytes of three weeds, Galium tricornutum, Lycopsis orientalis and Scandix pecten-veneris, were studied in an altitudinal gradient of the Pamir Alai Mountains. Colonisation by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) was found in all species. Only in the case of G. tricornutum was there a rise in mycorrhizal parameters values found for the medium altitude range. Similar tendencies were observed in the case of the AMF colonisation potential assessment. This suggests that plant species' identity, dependency on symbiosis and interactions with soil properties determine root colonisation and the abundance of AMF in soils at the elevations in question. Four AMF…
Looking for Hidden Enemies of Metabarcoding: Species Composition, Habitat and Management Can Strongly Influence DNA Extraction while Examining Grassland Communities
Despite the raising preoccupation, the critical question of how the plant community is composed belowground still remains unresolved, particularly for the conservation priority types of vegetation. The usefulness of metabarcoding analysis of the belowground parts of the plant community is subjected to a considerable bias, that often impedes detection of all species in a sample due to insufficient DNA quality or quantity. In the presented study we have attempted to find environmental factors that determine the amount and quality of DNA extracted from total plant tissue from above- and belowground samples (1,000 and 10,000 cm2). We analyzed the influence of land use intensity, soil properties…
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in Georgia, the Caucasus region: the first report of species diversity and root colonization
Although the Caucasus region belongs to the world biodiversity hotspots, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have not been investigated in this area. A total of 11 mixtures of soils and roots from 11 localities in southern Georgia in an altitudinal gradient from 1 to 1560 m a. s. l. were sampled in 2015. AMF spores and arbuscular mycorrhiza were observed in all samples. Eight AMF species were found in the field-collected soils: Acaulospora bireticulata, Acaulospora cavernata, Funneliformis coronatum, Gigaspora gigantea, Glomus rubiforme, Scutellospora dipurpurescens, Septoglomus constrictum, and Septoglomus jasnowskae. The most frequently occurring species proved to be S. constrictum. Labora…