Spore Diversity of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in a Post-mining Area in Korea

Hyeok Park1   Eun-Hwa Lee1   Kang-Hyeon Ka2   Ahn-Heum Eom1,*   

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the spore diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in rhizospheres of a postmining area and a natural forest area in Jecheon, Korea. The rhizospheres of the post-mining areas were dominated by Acaulospora mellea, while those of the natural forest area were dominated by Ambispora leptoticha. The number of AMF spores in rhizospheres of the post-mining area was significantly higher than that in the rhizospheres of the natural forest area. Although the diversity index of each area showed no significant difference, the community similarity of AMF within the rhizospheres of natural forest area was significantly higher than that observed within those of post-mining area. These results showed that AM fungal communities in rhizospheres could change because of the degree of disturbance.

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