Diversity of Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the three agroecological zones of the Central African Republic

Abstract

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are organisms that can establish symbioses with 80% of terrestrial plants. Soils were collected in three agroecological zones (AEZ) of the Central African Republic (CAR). The aim of this research is to study the diversity of AMF in the CAR. The spore extraction and enumeration, granulometric and physicochemical analyses of each soil were performed. The results showed that AEZ3 has a large number of spores; it is therefore the densest followed by AEZ2 and AEZ1. The particle size analysis showed that AEZ1 and 2 have a sandy-clay texture and AEZ3 is sandy-silty. The average water pH of the three surveyed areas is 5.13. The organic matter content is low. The total nitrogen content of the soils varies from one area to another. The C/N ratio of the studied soils varies from 9.65 to 15.5 with an average of 13.8. The total phosphorus content is lower than the norm. The best calcium content is obtained in AEZ3 followed by AEZ1. Magnesium, sodium, the sum of exchangeable cations and cation exchange capacity (CEC) were below the critical thresholds.