Abstract
Orchid mycorrhizal (OrM) fungi play a crucial role in the ontogeny of orchids, yet little is known about how the structure of OrM fungal communities varies with space and environmental factors. Previous studies suggest that within orchid patches, the distance to adult orchids may affect the abundance of OrM fungi. Many orchid species grow in species-rich temperate semi-natural grasslands, the persistence of which depends on moderate physical disturbances, such as grazing and mowing. The aim of this study was to test whether the diversity, structure and composition of OrM fungal community are influenced by the orchid patches and management intensity in semi-natural grasslands. We detected putative OrM fungi from 0 to 32 m away from the patches of host orchid species (Orchis militaris and Platanthera chlorantha) in 21 semi-natural calcareous grasslands using pyrosequencing. In addition, we assessed different ecological conditions in semi-natural grasslands but primarily focused on the effect of grazing intensity on OrM fungal communities in soil. We found that investigated orchid species were mostly associated with Ceratobasidiaceae and Tulasnellaceae and, to a lesser extent, with Sebacinales. Of all the examined factors, the intensity of grazing explained the largest proportion of variation in OrM fungal as well as total fungal community composition in soil. Spatial analyses showed limited evidence for spatial clustering of OrM fungi and their dependence on host orchids. Our results indicate that habitat management can shape OrM fungal communities, and the spatial distribution of these fungi appears to be weakly structured outside the orchid patches.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Sten Anslan, Ants Kaasik, Milan Kotilínek, Eva Luukas, Rasmus Puusepp, Sergei Põlme and Heidi Tamm for their scientific or technical assistance, as well as Aveliina Helm, Mari Reitalu and Anu Tiitsaar for providing information about potential study sites. We also thank J. Colpaert and anonymous reviewers for constructive comments on the manuscript. This study was supported by the Estonian Science Foundation (grants 9286, PUT171, IUT20-30 and IUT21-1) and the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund by the program 3.2.0802.11-0043. P. Kohout was supported by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic within the long-term research development project no. RVO 67985939 and Charles University in Prague (NPUI LO1417 MSMT).
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Oja, J., Vahtra, J., Bahram, M. et al. Local-scale spatial structure and community composition of orchid mycorrhizal fungi in semi-natural grasslands. Mycorrhiza 27, 355–367 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00572-016-0755-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00572-016-0755-7