The Effects of Arbuscular Mycorrhiza Trees on the Diversity of Forest Communities Worldwide Are Greater than Those of Ectotrophic Mycorrhiza Trees

Abstract

The interaction between woody plants and mycorrhizal fungi is an important biological interaction; however, the driving factors behind the diversity of mycorrhizal trees formed through the symbiosis of mycorrhizal fungi and woody plants remain unclear. In this study, we collected and compiled the woody plant data of 34 forest dynamic plots containing 3350 species from habitats around the world and divided them into AM and EcM trees. We tested the contribution of AM and EcM trees to tree diversity and its components in forest communities worldwide. Our results showed that AM trees rather than EcM trees affect the tree diversity of forest communities, and that the diversity of AM trees has a significant latitudinal gradient pattern. Climate variables, especially temperature, are strongly correlated with the diversity patterns for AM trees rather than EcM trees. Topography is the most significant factor affecting the diversity of EcM trees. Our findings highlight the importance of AM trees for the tree diversity of forest communities worldwide. Our findings have important implications for understanding the response of complex woody plant communities with different types of mycorrhizal symbiosis to climate change.