Diversity of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Soil Aggregation

土壤聚集（孔隙空间和固体物质在土壤中的排列）是自然和人工管理生态系统中一个至关重要的过程，影响着广泛的土壤和生态系统功能以及生物群。管理实践和侵蚀威胁着国家和全球范围内的土壤结构。真菌，特别是丛枝菌根真菌（AMF）在土壤聚集中具有重要意义。然而，对AMF与土壤团聚的基本生物学特性了解甚少。本研究测试了AMF的几个基本生物学（生理和建筑）特性与土壤团聚体的关系。据推测，这些真菌性状与许多真菌物种的土壤聚集有关。该研究还将土壤团聚放在这些共生真菌的其他功能的背景下，并研究了不同种类的真菌如何在维持稳定的土壤团聚体方面相互作用。这项研究的教育组成部分的一个方面是研究生和PI参与蒙大拿州教师调查生态项目，与蒙大拿州西部高中教师的合作伙伴关系。

Soil aggregation (the arrangement of pore spaces and solid matter in soil) is a critically important process in natural and managed ecosystems, affecting a wide range of soil and ecosystem functions and biota. Management practices and erosion threaten soil structure on a national and global scale. Fungi, and in particular arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), are of great significance in soil aggregation. However, there is little known about of the basic biological characteristics of AMF in relation to soil aggregation. This research tests several fundamental biological (physiological and architectural) characteristics of AMF for their relationship with soil aggregation. It is hypothesized that there fungal traits correlate with soil aggregation across a number of fungal species. The research also places soil aggregation in the context of other functions carried out by these symbiotic fungi, and investigates how different species of fungi can interact in maintaining stable soil aggregates. An aspect of the educational component of this research is participation of graduate students and PI in the Montana Teachers Investigate Ecology program, a partnership with Western Montana High School teachers.