Research Articles

Effects of stand age and niche on community assembly of belowground fungi in Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica plantations

  • ZHAO Pei-Shan ,
  • GAO Guang-Lei ,
  • DING Guo-Dong ,
  • ZHANG Ying
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  • 1National Observation and Research Station of Yanchi Mu Us Desert Ecosystem, School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
    2State Key Laboratory of Efficient Production of Forest Resources, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
    3Engineering Research Centre of Forestry Ecological Engineering, Ministry of Education, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
    4Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China

Received date: 2024-04-19

  Accepted date: 2024-09-28

  Online published: 2024-09-29

Supported by

National Natural Science Foundation of China(32371962)

Abstract

Aims Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica, an evergreen coniferous tree species, plays a pivotal role in ecological restoration efforts in the deserts of northern China. This study aimed to elucidate the community assembly of belowground fungi and the intricate relationships between P. sylvestris var. mongolica and fungi in P. sylvestris var. mongolica plantations. The findings would provide the novel microbial perspectives for sustainable management strategies of P. sylvestris var. mongolica plantations.
Methods Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica plantations of different stand ages (26, 37, and 46 a) in the Hulun Buir Sandy Land were selected to examine the diversity, composition and assembly pattern of root-associated fungi (RAF), rhizosphere soil fungi (RhSF) and non-rhizosphere soil fungi (NRhSF).
Important findings (1) Stand ages and niches significantly influenced fungal diversity. The fungal community richness and diversity indices ranked as follows: 46 a > 26 a > 37 a, and the dissimilarity gradually increased with the increase of the stand age. Among the different niches, the richness, diversity indexes, and dissimilarity were the highest in NRhSF, the middle in RhSF and the lowest in RAF. (2) The belowground fungi were assigned to 14 phyla and 592 genera. The belowground fungal communities of 26, 37, and 46 a plantations had 3, 1, and 5 abundant genera respectively, and they had symbiotic capability of endophytic or ectomycorrhizal fungi. RAF, RhSF, and NRhSF had 3, 8, and 5 abundant genera, respectively, and the proportions of Mortierellomycota and saprotrophic fungi increased from root to soil. (3) The primary assembly processes of belowground fungal communities were the dispersal limitation (63.54%), drift (22.06%) and homogeneous selection (12.90%). Stand age significantly correlated with structure of belowground fungi. Soil total phosphorus content, soil total nitrogen and phosphorus contents, and soil organic matter content were the main factors influencing RAF, RhSF, and NRhSF, respectively. This study highlights temporal and spatial heterogeneity of fungal community diversity and composition in P. sylvestris var. mongolica plantations. Stochastic processes mainly were dispersal limitations, shaping these communities, while the deterministic processes were influenced by host selection and environmental filtering.

Cite this article

ZHAO Pei-Shan , GAO Guang-Lei , DING Guo-Dong , ZHANG Ying . Effects of stand age and niche on community assembly of belowground fungi in Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica plantations[J]. Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology, 2025 , 49(9) : 1472 -1484 . DOI: 10.17521/cjpe.2024.0118

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