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Journal of Arid Land  2012, Vol. 4 Issue (1): 43-51    DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1227.2012.00042
Research Articles     
Dynamics of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with desert ephemeral plants in Gurbantunggut Desert
Tao ZHANG1, ChangYan TIAN2, Yu SUN3, DengSha BAI4, Gu FENG1
1 College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China;
2 Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China;
3 Institute of Crop Tillage and Cultivation, Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150030, China;
4 Institute of Nuclear and Biotechnology, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Urumqi 830091, China
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Abstract  Previous studies documented that most desert plants can be colonized by arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, however, little is known about how the dynamics of AM fungi are related to ephemerals in desert ecosystems. The dynamics of AM fungi with desert ephemerals were examined to determine the effects of host plant life stages on the development of AM fungi. Mean colonization of ephemeral annual plants was 45% lower than that of ephemeral perennial plants. The colonizations were much higher in the early part of the growing season than in later parts, peaking at flowering times. The phenology of AM fungi in root systems varied among different ephemerals. The density of AM fungal spores increased with the development of ephemeral annual plants, reached its maximum at flowering times, and then plateaued about 20 days after the aboveground senescence. A significant positive correlation was found between AM fungi spore density and biomass of ephemeral annual plants. The life cycles of AM fungi associated with desert ephemerals were very short, being about 60–70 days. Soil temperature and water content had no direct influence on the development of AM fungal spores. We concluded that the development of AM fungi was in response to desert ephemeral phenology and life history strategy.

Key wordstemperature      precipitation      global climate      Minqin     
Received: 18 July 2011      Published: 05 March 2012
Fund:  

The National Natural Science Foundation of China (30770341) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (the WATERCOPE project, I-R-1284).

Corresponding Authors: Gu FENG     E-mail: fenggu@cau.edu.cn
Cite this article:

Tao ZHANG, ChangYan TIAN, Yu SUN, DengSha BAI, Gu FENG. Dynamics of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with desert ephemeral plants in Gurbantunggut Desert. Journal of Arid Land, 2012, 4(1): 43-51.

URL:

http://jal.xjegi.com/10.3724/SP.J.1227.2012.00042     OR     http://jal.xjegi.com/Y2012/V4/I1/43

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