Distributional shifts in ectomycorrizhal fungal communities lag behind climate-driven tree upward migration in a conifer forest-high elevation shrubland ecotone

Publication date: Available online 25 July 2019Source: Soil Biology and BiochemistryAuthor(s): Lucía Álvarez-Garrido, Sara Hortal, Jeff Powell, Benjamín Viñegla, José A. CarreiraAbstractIncreasing temperatures are leading to upward migration of plant species in mountains, with elevational shifts of the mountain tree-line being the most commonly documented response (“front-edge” of altitudinal advance). Rapid distributional and compositional shifts in soil microbial communities, especially ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi, under climate change are also expected as an indirect effect of the impacts on vegetation. However, and despite the potential consequences on ecosystem functioning, they have seldom been addressed. Here we test the hypothesis that distributional shifts in soil ECM fungal communities will follow climate-driven tree upward migration in a fir forest-high elevation shrubland ecotone. Using Illumina Miseq sequencing, we compare the ECM fungal community associated to roots of adult Abies pinsapo trees at the tree-line with that of individuals involved in the altitudinal advance above it. Our data showed a decreasing trend in ECM fungal species abundance, richness, and proportion of species with epigeous fruiting bodies toward higher altitudes above the tree-line. Agaricales, Boletales and Pezizales were the fungal orders most frequently shared between host-individuals from the tree-line and the upward-migration area. In the latter, the ECM fungal community was...

Source: Soil Biology and Biochemistry - July 26, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research