Arid Zone Research ›› 2025, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (6): 1055-1066.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2025.06.09

• Land and Water Resources • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Structure and functional group characteristics of generalized and specialized species of soil and root-associated fungi in Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica forests of the Hulunbuir Desert

CHENG Yanlin1(), WANG Jiayuan1, GAO Guanglei1,2,3,4,5(), DING Guodong1,3,4,5, ZHANG Ying1,3,4,5, ZHAO Peishan1, ZHU Binbin6   

  1. 1. School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
    2. National Key Laboratory for Efficient Production of Forest Resources, Beijing 100083, China
    3. National Observation and Research Station of Yanchi Mu Us Desert Ecosystem, Yanchi 751500, Ningxia, China
    4. Engineering Research Center of Forestry Ecological Engineering, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100083, China
    5. Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing 100083, China
    6. Develonment Center of Forestry and Glassland in Hulunbeier, Hulun Buir 021000, Inner Mongolia, China
  • Received:2024-09-30 Revised:2024-12-24 Online:2025-06-15 Published:2025-06-11
  • Contact: GAO Guanglei E-mail:chengyanlin@bjfu.edu.cn;gaoguanglei@bjfu.edu.cn

Abstract:

This study investigated the community structure and function of generalized and specialized fungal species (GFS and SFS, respectively) in the soil and roots of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica forests and their relationship with soil physicochemical properties, aiming to identify key microbial mechanisms affecting ecosystem functioning in P. sylvestris var. mongolica forests. Using high-throughput sequencing technology, we analyzed the differences in the community structure and functional groups of GFS and SFS in the soil and roots of natural forests and plantations (24 a, 35 a, 44 a) of P. sylvestris var. mongolica in the Hulunbuir Desert. The results were as follows: (1) The soil and root-associated GFS retained 169 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in total, the soil SFS retained 603 OTUs, and the root-associated SFS retained 216 OTUs, including Tricholoma and Suillus in soil GFS; and Tricholoma, Suillus, and Cadophora in root-associated GFS; Penicillium in soil SFS; and Acephala in root-associated SFS. (2) The relative abundance of symbiotic nutritive fungi accounted for 28.49%-47.21% of soil GFS, and the dominant ecological functional group was ectomycorrhizal fungi, which showed a trend of increasing and then decreasing with forest age. Saprophytic nutritive fungi accounted for 17.01%-40.01% of soil SFS. The relative abundance of saprophytic nutritive fungi in plantation forests was lower than that in natural forests, and it showed a tendency of increasing and decreasing followed by increasing with forest age. Symbiotic trophic fungi accounted for 43.25%-54.45% of the root-associated GFS; the dominant ecological functional group was ectomycorrhizal fungi, which showed an increasing trend with increasing forest age, and the relative abundance of ectomycorrhizal fungi in natural forests was higher than that in plantation forests. (3) The soil organic matter and available phosphorus content of natural P. sylvestris var. mongolica forests were significantly higher than those of plantation forests (P<0.05). In plantation forests, with increasing forest age, the soil organic matter (SOM), total phosphorus (TP), available nitrogen (AN), and available phosphorus in the soil increased significantly (P<0.05), whereas the soil pH decreased but not significantly (P>0.05). GFS was mainly dominated by SOM, soil NH4+-N, and TP (P< 0.05). Furthermore, the community variability of root-associated SFS was regulated by total nitrogen (P<0.05), whereas soil SFS was significantly affected by only TP, AN, and NO3--N (P<0.05). The drivers of fungal community structure showed significant ecological niche differentiation. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the ecological functions of fungi in the soil and roots of P. sylvestris var. mongolica forests, providing a basis for the sustainable management and protection of P. sylvestris var. mongolica forests in the Hulunbuir Desert.

Key words: soil fungi, root-associated fungi, habitat generalist, habitat specialist, community structure, ecological function, soil physical and chemical