Tropical tree ectomycorrhiza are distributed independently of soil nutrients

Medina-Vega, José A.; Zuleta, Daniel; Aguilar, Salomón; Alonso, Alfonso; Bissiengou, Pulchérie; Brockelman, Warren Y.; Bunyavejchewin, Sarayudh; Burslem, David F.R.P.; Castaño, Nicolás; Chave, Jérôme; Dalling, James W.; de Oliveira, Alexandre A.; Duque, Álvaro; Ediriweera, Sisira; Ewango, Corneille E.N.; Filip, Jonah; Hubbell, Stephen P.; Itoh, Akira; Kiratiprayoon, Somboon; Lum, Shawn K.Y.; Makana, Jean-Remy; Memiaghe, Hervé; Mitre, David; Mohamad, Mohizah Bt.; Nathalang, Anuttara; Nilus, Reuben; Nkongolo, Nsalambi V.; Novotny, Vojtech; O’Brien, Michael J.; Pérez, Rolando; Pongpattananurak, Nantachai; Reynolds, Glen; Russo, Sabrina E.; Tan, Sylvester; Thompson, Jill; Uriarte, María; Valencia, Renato; Vicentini, Alberto; Yao, Tze Leong; Zimmerman, Jess K.; Davies, Stuart J.. 2024 Tropical tree ectomycorrhiza are distributed independently of soil nutrients. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 8. 400-410. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02298-0

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02298-0

Abstract/Summary

Mycorrhizae, a form of plant–fungal symbioses, mediate vegetation impacts on ecosystem functioning. Climatic effects on decomposition and soil quality are suggested to drive mycorrhizal distributions, with arbuscular mycorrhizal plants prevailing in low-latitude/high-soil-quality areas and ectomycorrhizal (EcM) plants in high-latitude/low-soil-quality areas. However, these generalizations, based on coarse-resolution data, obscure finer-scale variations and result in high uncertainties in the predicted distributions of mycorrhizal types and their drivers. Using data from 31 lowland tropical forests, both at a coarse scale (mean-plot-level data) and fine scale (20 × 20 metres from a subset of 16 sites), we demonstrate that the distribution and abundance of EcM-associated trees are independent of soil quality. Resource exchange differences among mycorrhizal partners, stemming from diverse evolutionary origins of mycorrhizal fungi, may decouple soil fertility from the advantage provided by mycorrhizal associations. Additionally, distinct historical biogeographies and diversification patterns have led to differences in forest composition and nutrient-acquisition strategies across three major tropical regions. Notably, Africa and Asia’s lowland tropical forests have abundant EcM trees, whereas they are relatively scarce in lowland neotropical forests. A greater understanding of the functional biology of mycorrhizal symbiosis is required, especially in the lowland tropics, to overcome biases from assuming similarity to temperate and boreal regions.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02298-0
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Biodiversity (Science Area 2017-)
ISSN:	2397-334X
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Publisher link (see Related URLs) provides a read-only full-text copy of the published paper.
Additional Keywords:	biogeography, ecosystem ecology, forest ecology
NORA Subject Terms:	Ecology and Environment Agriculture and Soil Science Botany
Related URLs:	Dataset Dataset Publisher
Date made live:	16 Jan 2024 08:40 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/536662

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02298-0

UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:

Biodiversity (Science Area 2017-)

ISSN:

2397-334X

Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:

Publisher link (see Related URLs) provides a read-only full-text copy of the published paper.

Additional Keywords:

biogeography, ecosystem ecology, forest ecology