Abstract
To examine the influence of elevated temperature and nitrogen (N) addition on species composition and development of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and the effect of AMF on plant community structure and aboveground productivity, we conducted a 5-year field experiment in a temperate meadow in northeast China and a subsequent greenhouse experiment. In the field experiment, N addition reduced spore population diversity and richness of AMF and suppressed the spore density and the hyphal length density (HLD). Elevated temperature decreased spore density and diameter and increased the HLD, but did not affect AMF spore population composition. In the greenhouse experiment, AMF altered plant community composition and increased total aboveground biomass in both elevated temperature and N addition treatments; additionally, AMF also increased the relative abundance and aboveground biomass of the grasses Leymus chinensis (Poaceae) and Setaria viridis (Gramineae) and significantly reduced the relative abundance and aboveground biomass of the Suaeda corniculata (Chenopodiaceae). Although elevated temperature and N addition can affect species composition or suppress the development of AMF, AMF are likely to play a vital role in increasing plant diversity and productivity. Notably, AMF might reduce the threat of climate change induced degradation of temperate meadow ecosystems.
Highlights
The species composition of Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) community was significantly affected by the elevated temperature and N addition treatments
Elevated temperature had no impact on AMF species richness, diversity (H) or evenness (E), whereas N addition decreased AMF species richness and H by 18% (P < 0.05) and 25% (P < 0.05), respectively, compared with control, but had no impact on E (Table 1)
Elevated temperature significantly altered the development of AMF (Table 1), elevated temperature did not affect AMF spore population diversity and evenness; this result is consistent with the absence of a significant effect of elevated temperature on the species composition of the plant community[41]
Summary
The result from an alpine meadow ecosystem of China found that N fertilization reduced the abundance of Glomeromycota and AMF species richness[24]. The integrated effects of elevated temperature and N addition on AM fungal communities in temperate meadow ecosystems in China are not well understood. The average atmospheric N deposition is approximately 10.5 g m−2 yr−1.40 to study the effects of elevated temperature and N addition on plant community composition and productivity, a field experiment was established in 2006 in the Songnen meadow ecosystem[41].
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