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Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi as a Determinant of Plant Diversity: in Search of Underlying Mechanisms and General Principles

  • Chapter
Mycorrhizal Ecology

Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 157))

Abstract

Recently, several studies have reported that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) enhance plant diversity of grasslands by specifically stimulating the growth of subordinate, often rare plant species. The underlying mechanisms by which AMF promote growth of such mycorrhizal-dependent plant species are reviewed in this chapter. These mechanisms can be used to explain how AMF promote plant diversity. Here I show that a positive relationship exists between the mycorrhizal dependency of a plant and the amount of phosphorus obtained from AMF. In addition, a re-analysis of previously published material shows that interplant carbon transport through a mycorrhizal hyphal network, from one plant to another, is directed towards plant species with the highest mycorrhizal dependency. Plant species with high mycorrhizal dependency, therefore, receive much more resources from AMF than plant species with a lower dependency. The inclusion of these results in a conceptual model shows that the supply of additional resources by AMF can enable mycorrhizal-dependent plant species to establish and coexist with other plant species and this can explain how AMF enhance plant diversity. In some instances, AMF can also reduce diversity. This has been observed in tall grass prairies that are dominated by mycorrhizal-dependent plant species and in which the majority of plants had a low mycorrhizal dependency. That AMF influences on plant diversity depend on the plant species composition is discussed.

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  1. Marcel G. A. Van Der Heijden
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Systems Ecology, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Free University of Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1087, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Marcel G. A. van der Heijden

  2. Institute of Ecology, University of Lausanne, Biology Building, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Ian R. Sanders

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Van Der Heijden, M.G.A. (2002). Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi as a Determinant of Plant Diversity: in Search of Underlying Mechanisms and General Principles. In: van der Heijden, M.G.A., Sanders, I.R. (eds) Mycorrhizal Ecology. Ecological Studies, vol 157. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-38364-2_10

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