Diversity of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in Oak-Pine Forests and Agricultural Land Prevalent in the Kumaon Himalayan Hills, Uttarakhand, India.
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Date
2012-04
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Abstract
The diversity and abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) was assessed in the
Kumaon Himalayan foothills. Four typical ecosystems were selected in the Sat-Tal area
located in the Nainital, district in Uttarakhand, India, representing vegetation change due to
human settlement and selective logging of native oak. Besides a natural oak forest, a mixed
pine-oak forest, a pure pine stand and an arable field were sampled. The latter was
cropped with black gram (Vigna mungo L. Hepper) and maize (Zea mays L.) during the
rainy season from June to September and rotated with wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) during
winter for the last 10 years. Only cow dung compost used for fertilization.
The highest AMF spore abundance throughout the year was recorded in soil samples from
the pine-oak mixed forest, followed by the pine and oak forests and the agricultural field. At
all sites, the lowest spore abundance was recorded at the end of the winter season in
March, and the highest in October after the rainy season. Whereas in October, Glomus
claroideum, Acaulospora scrobiculata and A. spinosa were found at all sites, in March it
was only G. intraradices which occurred everywhere. The highest AMF spore morphotype
richness was recorded in samples from the oak forest. In AMF-trap cultures set up with field
soil inocula, the dominant species recovered were G. intraradices, G. etunicatum and A.
scrobiculata. As compared to the field samples, trap culturing of one year enhanced spore
abundance but entailed a loss of AMF richness. The study revealed differences in AMF community composition and structure among sites characterized by different land use
systems.
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Keywords
Oak, pine, forest, agriculture, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), biodiversity
Citation
Chaturvedi Shruti, Tewari Varsha, Sharma Suvigya, Oehl Fritz, Wiemken Andres, Prakash Anil, Sharma A K. Diversity of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in Oak-Pine Forests and Agricultural Land Prevalent in the Kumaon Himalayan Hills, Uttarakhand, India. British Microbiology Research Journal. 2012 Apr; 2(2): 82-96.