Publication
Title
Variation in ectomycorrhizal fungal communities associated with Silver linden (**Tilia tomentosa**) within and across urban areas
Author
Abstract
Trees in urban areas face harsh environmental conditions. Ectomycorrhizal fungi (EcM) form a symbiosis with many tree species and provide a range of benefits to their host through their extraradical hyphal network. Although our understanding of the environmental drivers and large scale geographical variation of EcM communities in natural ecosystems is growing, our knowledge of EcM communities within and across urban areas is still limited. Here, we characterized EcM communities using Illumina miseq sequencing on 175 root samples of the urban tree Tilia tomentosa from three European cities, namely Leuven (Belgium), Strasbourg (France) and Porto (Portugal). We found strong differences in EcM richness and community composition between cities. Soil acidity, organic matter and moisture content were significantly associated with EcM community composition. In agreement, the explained variability in EcM communities was mostly attributed to general soil characteristics, whereas very little variation was explained by city and heavy metal pollution. Overall, our results suggest that EcM communities in urban areas are significantly associated with soil characteristics, while heavy metal pollution and biogeography had little or no impact. These findings deliver new insights into EcM distribution patterns in urban areas and contribute to specific inoculation strategies to improve urban tree vitality.
Language
English
Source (journal)
FEMS microbiology: ecology / Federation of European Microbiological Societies. - Amsterdam
Publication
Amsterdam : 2018
ISSN
0168-6496 [print]
1574-6941 [online]
DOI
10.1093/FEMSEC/FIY207
Volume/pages
94 :12 (2018) , p. 1-11
ISI
000453661900021
Pubmed ID
30312413
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Publication type
Subject
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 02.01.2024
Last edited 03.01.2024
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