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做法（放牧、割草）都会减少地上植物生物量，因此草地上的一个重要碳汇是植物根系。因此，了解土地利用对根系生长和生物量的影响，对于地下生物区系研究和碳汇强度模型十分重要。丛枝菌根真菌（AMF）是最常见的微生物与根，提供了一个直接的联系，从上面到地下生物区系，因为AMF在根直接受其宿主植物。我们预测，宿主植物的身份和特定的植物性状（如根结构）将导致系统发育聚类AMF社区，这将导致密切相关的植物物种被类似的AMF殖民。随着土地利用强度的增加，AMF物种丰富度下降，这将溶解系统发育集群，导致植物之间的更均匀的社区。我们还将合作进行精细尺度（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，这些组合与其他土壤微生物组的多样性直接相关。我们的项目将产生数据AMF社区在根在一个前所未有的水平的全面性，使我们能够测试关键假设的系统发育控制社区。通过在探索性设计中的充分整合，该项目将与其他项目产生最大的协同作用。

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.