The Addition of a High Concentration of Phosphorus Reduces the Diversity of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in Temperate Agroecosystems

Abstract

Phosphorus (P) is an essential macronutrient crucial for both plant growth and crop production, playing a pivotal role in agriculture since the early 20th century. The symbiotic relationship between AMF and plants serves as a classic illustration. These fungi play a regulatory role in the growth and development of plants, especially in facilitating the absorption of P and carbon molecules by plants. While there has been a growing body of research on the community assembly of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in recent decades, our knowledge of the processes governing the coexistence of these AMF communities influenced by P in agroecosystems remains limited. To investigate the impact of various P fertilizers on AMF communities in temperate agroecosystems, this study was conducted using soils sourced from wheat–maize rotation farmland at Henan Agricultural University Yuanyang Base. With the Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing technique, we systematically examined the taxonomic composition of soil AMF at the Yuanyang Base of Henan Agricultural University in a wheat–maize rotation agricultural field. Our primary objective was to unravel the mechanisms behind AMF community assembly and stability under varying P gradient fertilization conditions. Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS) analysis revealed significant differences among AMF communities in field soil subjected to various treatments (p < 0.05). A torus translations test demonstrated positive associations with the three treatments in 36 out of the 51 examined AMF operational taxonomic units (OTUs), making up 70.59% (p < 0.05) of the results. Furthermore, 37.84% (14/37) of the OTUs displayed preferences for the low P concentration treatment, while 34.29% (12/35) and 32.26% (10/31) favored medium and high P concentrations, respectively. An analysis of the Normalized Stochasticity Ratio (NST) and Checkerboard Score (C-score) indicated that in temperate agroecosystems, deterministic processes predominantly governed AMF in all treatment groups, with high P conditions exerting a stronger influence than low or medium P conditions. This study underscores the profound impact of long-term P fertilizer application on AMF community structures within temperate agricultural systems employing wheat–maize rotation. Additionally, it highlights the dominant role played by deterministic processes in shaping the assembly of AMF communities in these temperate agricultural systems that use P fertilizers. These findings emphasize the need for balanced nutrient management, particularly concerning P, to ensure the stability of AMF communities.