Biodiversity and land-use effects on root biomass and arbuscular mycorrhizal communities in roots

由于草地上的大多数土地利用（放牧、割草）会去除地上的植物生物量，因此草地上一个重要的碳汇是植物根系。因此，了解土地利用对根系生长和生物量的影响对地下生物群的研究和碳汇强度模型非常重要。丛枝菌根真菌（AMF）是与根相关的最常见的微生物之一，提供了从地上到地下生物群的直接联系，因为根中的AMF直接受到其寄主植物的影响。我们预测寄主植物的身份和特定的植物性状（如根结构）将导致AMF群落的系统发育聚类，这将导致相近的植物物种被相似的AMF定植。随着土地利用强度的增加，AMF物种丰富度下降，这将导致系统发育集群的溶解，使植物间的群落更加均匀。我们还将合作进行一项精细尺度（时间和空间）研究，我们预计植物群落的变化将导致AMF的独特组合，这与其他土壤微生物群的多样性直接相关。我们的项目将以前所未有的全面水平产生根部AMF群落的数据，使我们能够测试关于群落系统发育控制的关键假设。通过充分整合探索性设计，该项目将与其他项目产生最大的协同效应。

As most land use practices in grasslands (grazing, mowing) remove aboveground plant biomass, an important carbon sink in grasslands is plant roots. Thus, knowledge on the impact of land use on root growth and biomass is important for studies on belowground biota and for models of carbon sink strength. Arbuscular mycorrhizyal fungi (AMF) are among the most common microbes associated with roots, providing a direct link from above to belowground biota, as AMF in roots are directly influenced by their host plant. We predict that host plant identity and specific plant traits (e.g. root structure) will lead to phylogenetic clustering in AMF communities, which should lead to closely related plant species being colonized by similar AMF. With increasing land use intensity AMF species richness declines, which will dissolve phylogenetic clusters, leading to more uniform communities between plants. We will also collaborate on a fine-scale (temporal and spatial) study where we expect variation in plant communities to lead to unique assemblages of AMF which are directly linked to diversity in other soil microorganism groups. Our project will yield data on AMF communities in roots at an unprecedented level of comprehensiveness, enabling us to test critical hypotheses about phylogenetic controls on communities. Through full integration in the Exploratory design the project will engender maximal synergies with other projects.