Biological rhythms of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi under influence of seasonality in semiarid region in Brazil

ABSTRACT

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are widespread in nature, however, their distribution in the soil is uneven, being influenced by several environmental factors. This study aimed to determine species richness and relative identification of native AMFs and to evaluate the effect of annual seasonality on the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi present in four soils representating the state of Paraiba (Ultisol, Oxisol, Alfisol, and Entisol). Six samples of each soil were randomly collected at 0–5 cm depth in the four seasons, with the spores being extracted, counted and taxonomically identified. Soil analyses were carried out at the Soil Organic Matter Laboratory, at the Agricultural Sciences Center – CCA/UFPB, located in the city of Areia – PB. The spores were extracted by the technique of decantation and wet sieving. There was a greater amount and diversity of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in the soils of the Ultisol and Oxisol, where the most prevalent genus was the Dentiscutata nigra. The number of spores and the richness of AMF species were influenced by seasonality, and these variables were highly related to precipitation. Faced with the evident sensitivity of the AMF to climate change, it is important to point out the importance of evaluations throughout the year in wealth-raising studies.

KEYWORDS:

• Mycorrhiza
• weathered soils
• microbial diversity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior [001].