Biodiversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in agroecosystems

Abstract

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi [AMF] are soil fungi which form a mutualistic symbiosis with the roots of plants. A variety of benefits to the host have been ascribed to mycorrhizae, most often enhanced uptake of immmobile nutrient from the soil, notably P. An understanding of the impacts of agronomic practices upon communities of these fungi would help to ensure an opportunity for the utilization of the symbiosis and contribute to the success of sustainable agriculture. Measurement of the diversity of AMF communities in field soils presents a variety of challenges, among them the difficulty of identifying field collected spores, the detection of non-sporulating members of the community, and the lack of relation between functional diversity and the morphological diversity of spores used to delineate species. These challenges, as well as current efforts to overcome them, are discussed and recent research elaborating the effects of agromonic practices upon AMF communities and the effectiveness of mycorrhizae is presented.