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Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal diversity, external mycelium length, and glomalin-related soil protein content in response to long-term fertilizer management

  • SOILS, SEC 1 • SOIL ORGANIC MATTER DYNAMICS AND NUTRIENT CYCLING • RESEARCH ARTICLE
  • Published:
Journal of Soils and Sediments Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are crucial for ecosystem functioning and can contribute to the formation and maintenance of soil aggregates through the exudation of glomalin by extraradical hyphae. Monitoring fertilization effects on AM fungi may help us to develop sound management strategies. The objectives of this study were to investigate the impacts of long-term fertilization on AM fungal parameters and to find out the key factor that affects the diversity and function of AM fungi.

Materials and methods

A long-term fertilization experiment established in a sandy loam soil at northern China has received continuous fertilization treatments for 21 years, including control; mineral fertilizers of NK, PK, NP, and NPK; organic manure (OM); and half organic manure N plus half mineral fertilizer N (1/2 OMN). Top soil samples (0–15 cm) from three individual plots per treatment were collected for the analysis of chemical properties and fungal parameters. The population size of soil AM fungi was determined by real-time PCR, and the community composition was analyzed using PCR-denature gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), cloning, and sequencing techniques. The external mycelium of AM fungi was assessed using the grid-line intersect method, and the glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP) was extracted with citrate solution using bovine serum albumin as a standard.

Results and discussion

Long-term fertilization significantly increased (P < 0.05) soil organic C content, AM fungal population, species richness (R), Shannon–Wiener index (H), and GRSP content, except for the P-deficiency (NK) fertilization treatment. OM had a significantly greater (P < 0.05) impact on AM fungal population and GRSP content compared to mineral fertilizers but significantly decreased the length of external mycelium compared to the control (P < 0.05). Fertilization also changed the community composition of AM fungi, and the P-deficiency treatment again had the slightest influence. In addition, most species recovered from the DGGE profiles belonged to three genera, Glomus, Diversispora, and Archaeospora. Redundancy analysis showed that the population size and species richness of AM fungi and the GRSP content all significantly correlated to soil organic C content (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

Long-term P-containing fertilization, especially the application of OM, greatly increased the population size, species richness, and species diversity of AM fungi, as well as the contents of GRSP and soil organic C, but tended to decrease the length of external mycelium, while the P-deficiency fertilization had no such effect, suggesting that P was the key factor to maintain soil fertility as well as soil AM fungal diversity in this sandy loam soil.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Xiuli Xin, Shengwu Qin, Linyun Zhou, Jinfang Wang, and Jian Liu, of the Fengqiu Agro-Ecological Experimental Station, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, for their excellent field management and support on soil sampling. We would like to thank Junhua Wang, Ruirui Chen, and Youzhi Feng for their useful discussions on the analysis method. This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program (2011CB100505) and the National Natural Science Foundation (No. 41071168) of China, and the Knowledge Innovation Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (ISSASIP1118-3).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, East Beijing Road 71, Nanjing, 210008, People’s Republic of China

    Jue Dai, Junli Hu, Xiangui Lin, Rui Wang & Jiabao Zhang

  2. Joint Open Laboratory of Soil and the Environment, Hong Kong Baptist University & Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, East Beijing Road 71, Nanjing, 210008, People’s Republic of China

    Jue Dai, Junli Hu, Xiangui Lin, Rui Wang & Ming Hung Wong

  3. Provincial Key Laboratory of Biotic Environment and Ecological Security in Anhui, College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, East Beijing Road 1, Wuhu, 241000, People’s Republic of China

    Anna Yang

  4. Croucher Institute for Environmental Sciences, Department of Biology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, SAR, People’s Republic of China

    Junli Hu & Ming Hung Wong

  5. Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yuquan Road 19A, Beijing, 100049, People’s Republic of China

    Jue Dai & Rui Wang

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  1. Jue Dai
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  2. Junli Hu
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Correspondence to Xiangui Lin.

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Dai, J., Hu, J., Lin, X. et al. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal diversity, external mycelium length, and glomalin-related soil protein content in response to long-term fertilizer management. J Soils Sediments 13, 1–11 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-012-0576-z

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