Site‐Specific Nutrient Data Reveal the Importance of Soils in Driving the Mycorrhizal Make‐Up of Woody Vegetation Worldwide

ABSTRACT Aim Arbuscular mycorrhizas (AM) and ectomycorrhizas (ECM) have different impacts on nutrient cycling, carbon storage, community dynamics and enhancement of photosynthesis by rising CO 2 . Recent global analyses have concluded that patterns of AM/ECM dominance in forests worldwide are shaped by climate, with soil nutrients contributing negligible additional explanatory power. However, their reliance on nutrient data from GIS surfaces masks important local influences of parent material, topography and soil age on soil nutrient status. We asked if use of site‐specific nutrient data reveals a more important role for nutrients. Time Period Present day. Location Global dataset comprising 703 sites, encompassing forests, savanna/woodlands, shrublands and deserts on all continents except Antarctica. Taxa Studied Arborescent plants, including angiosperms, gymnosperms and tree ferns. Methods Generalised Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape (GAMLSS) to determine the effects of climate variables, soil nitrogen and soil phosphorus on the proportional representation of ECM and of non‐mycorrhizal species (NM) in woody vegetation. Results GAMLSS showed a strong negative relationship of ECM representation with mean annual temperature (MAT), and a strong negative relationship with soil total nitrogen. NM representation was highest on dry sites and phosphorus‐poor sites. Reanalysis showed that GIS‐derived soil nutrient data had less explanatory power than site‐specific nutrient data, and resulted in poorer model fits. Conclusions Our results support the long‐held belief that soil nutrients as well as climate influence the relative fitness of different mycorrhizal syndromes worldwide, and demonstrate the value of using site‐specific nutrient data. Soil nutrients should be considered when predicting the impact of climate change on the mycorrhizal composition of vegetation and resulting shifts in ecosystem processes.

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Journal
Global Ecology and Biogeography
Published
2024-12-13
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13936
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.60

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article

Site‐Specific Nutrient Data Reveal the Importance of Soils in Driving the Mycorrhizal Make‐Up of Woody Vegetation Worldwide

John L. Godlee, Mark Westoby, Sébastien Macé, Benjamin J. Wigley et al.
1 citations
Global Ecology and Biogeography
Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions
0.60
article

Site‐Specific Nutrient Data Reveal the Importance of Soils in Driving the Mycorrhizal Make‐Up of Woody Vegetation Worldwide

John L. Godlee, Mark Westoby, Sébastien Macé, Benjamin J. Wigley, Kris Verheyen, Xiaobin Hua, Ian J. Wright, Imma Oliveras Menor, Frida I. Piper, David F. R. P. Burslem, Claudio Latorre, Stephen Adu‐Bredu, Rodrigo A. Gutiérrez, Jesús López‐Angulo, Glen Reynolds, Jonathan Ilunga Muledi, Thomas Drouet, Roberto Godoy, Christopher H. Lusk, Jennifer Read, Viviana Araus, D.E. Bauman, Sybryn L. Maes, James William Dalling, Manuel Nicolas, Laurent Augusto, Kyle Graham Dexter, Michael J. O’Brien, Arnaud Jacobs, Robert M. Kooyman, Kathryn Allen, Alfredo Saldaña, Pavel Barsukov, Leen Depauw, Ben Hur Marimon-Junior, Francisco M. P. Gonçalves, Félix Brédoire, Ian A. Dickie, Beatriz Schwantes Marimon, Reuben Nilus
article en
1 citations

Abstract

ABSTRACT Aim Arbuscular mycorrhizas (AM) and ectomycorrhizas (ECM) have different impacts on nutrient cycling, carbon storage, community dynamics and enhancement of photosynthesis by rising CO 2 . Recent global analyses have concluded that patterns of AM/ECM dominance in forests worldwide are shaped by climate, with soil nutrients contributing negligible additional explanatory power. However, their reliance on nutrient data from GIS surfaces masks important local influences of parent material, topography and soil age on soil nutrient status. We asked if use of site‐specific nutrient data reveals a more important role for nutrients. Time Period Present day. Location Global dataset comprising 703 sites, encompassing forests, savanna/woodlands, shrublands and deserts on all continents except Antarctica. Taxa Studied Arborescent plants, including angiosperms, gymnosperms and tree ferns. Methods Generalised Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape (GAMLSS) to determine the effects of climate variables, soil nitrogen and soil phosphorus on the proportional representation of ECM and of non‐mycorrhizal species (NM) in woody vegetation. Results GAMLSS showed a strong negative relationship of ECM representation with mean annual temperature (MAT), and a strong negative relationship with soil total nitrogen. NM representation was highest on dry sites and phosphorus‐poor sites. Reanalysis showed that GIS‐derived soil nutrient data had less explanatory power than site‐specific nutrient data, and resulted in poorer model fits. Conclusions Our results support the long‐held belief that soil nutrients as well as climate influence the relative fitness of different mycorrhizal syndromes worldwide, and demonstrate the value of using site‐specific nutrient data. Soil nutrients should be considered when predicting the impact of climate change on the mycorrhizal composition of vegetation and resulting shifts in ecosystem processes.

Global Ecology and BiogeographyVol. 34(1)
University of Wyoming (US), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), University of Tasmania (AU), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (FR), Rainforest Alliance (US), Université Libre de Bruxelles (BE), University of Lubumbashi (CD), University of Talca (CL), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ES), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (CL), Austral University of Chile (CL), The University of Melbourne (AU), Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (GB), University of Concepción (CL), Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (ES), University of Canterbury (NZ), University of Aberdeen (GB), Université de Montpellier (FR), Institut Agro Montpellier (FR), Kyrgyz National Agrarian University named after K.I. Skryabin (KG), Institute of Natural Sciences (BE), Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso (BR), Ghent University (BE), University of Oxford (GB), Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR), École Nationale Supérieure des Sciences Agronomiques de Bordeaux-Aquitaine (FR), Sabah Environmental Trust (MY), Scientific Services (ZA), Estacion Experimental de Zonas Aridas (ES), Office National des Forêts (FR), Sabah Forestry Department (MY), The Forestry Commission of Ghana (GH), Ecosystem Sciences (AU), Institute for Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry (RU), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR), Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, University of Waikato (NZ), University of Bayreuth (DE), Monash University (AU), Western Sydney University (AU), University of Edinburgh (GB), Macquarie University (AU), Nelson Mandela University (ZA)
Sight Research UK, Royal Society Te Apārangi, Natural Environment Research Council
Openalex Percentile: Top 20%
Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions
0.60
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