Mycorrhizal nitrogen uptake of wheat is increased by earthworm activity only under no-till and straw removal conditions

Abstract

A large part of crop nutrient uptake occurs through the interaction of roots with symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). However, it is still an open question how straw management and earthworm activity affect AMF community structure and their nitrogen-transferring function in wheat. A split-plot field experiment was conducted to address this question. Three straw management regimes including different tillage treatments (no-till with no straw, NTNS; rotary tillage with straw return, RTSR and ditch-buried straw return, DBSR), and two earthworm treatments (no earthworm, −E; and earthworm addition, +E) were conducted. The AMF community structure in the wheat roots was characterized with high-throughput sequencing, and its function in terms of N acquisition was measured with 15N isotope tracing through hyphal in-growth cores. Our results showed that both the DBSR and RTSR treatments significantly changed AMF community composition and enhanced the mycorrhiza-mediated plant N uptake when compared to NTNS. The effect of earthworm activity on AMF community composition and mycorrhiza-mediated N uptake strongly depended on the straw management regimes. While earthworm presence increased AMF dominance (+32.9%) and mycorrhizal N uptake (+2.05-fold) under straw removal, they decreased AMF dominance (−30.4% and −41.9% respectively) and mycorrhizal N uptake (−37.3% and −34.3% respectively) under both DBSR and RTSR treatments in comparison with the absence of earthworms. It is concluded that straw addition shifts the AMF community structure and increases N uptake by the host plants; and that the effect of earthworms on AMF community structure and functioning depends on the straw management regime. The results suggest that straw management and its interaction with earthworms can affect mycorrhiza-mediated plant N uptake, possibly through altering some dominant AMF taxa.