Evolutionary history and environmental filtering jointly structure ectomycorrhizal fungal communities across Pinaceae forests on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau
Journal of Plant Ecology, vol. 19
Abstract
Abstract Plant–microbe interactions are fundamental to biodiversity maintenance and ecosystem functioning, and their assembly is shaped by a complex interplay of ecological and evolutionary processes. However, how these forces jointly influence ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungal communities, especially those dominant in subalpine forests, remains poorly understood. To address this, we investigated EcM fungal communities associated with 11 species of Pinaceae (Abies, Picea and Pinus) across 195 monodominant stands in the subalpine forests of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. We found that all pine species are consistently associated with a broad phylogenetic range of EcM fungal lineages, and that pine–EcM association networks exhibit low connectance, indicating low partner specificity. Variation in fungal community structure was significantly influenced by host identity, environmental factors and spatial distribution, but not by host phylogenetic relatedness. Notably, fungal taxa from three dominant lineages (Sebacina, Russula and Inocybe) were clustered phylogenetically with globally distributed Pinaceae-associated taxa, pointing to evolutionarily conserved symbiotic associations across biogeographic regions. Together, these results indicate that EcM fungal communities in subalpine Pinaceae forests are assembled through a combination of evolutionary conservatism and environmental filtering. The persistent association with key EcM fungi across Pinaceae species underscores their essential role in supporting tree physiology and forest ecosystem stability in subalpine environments.
Authors 7
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Naturalis Biodiversity Center · Chinese Academy of Sciences · Chengdu Institute of Biology
Affiliation as printed
China-Croatia Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Chengdu 610213 ,
Mountain Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Chengdu 610213 ,
Naturalis Biodiversity Center , Leiden 2332 AA ,
1Mountain Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610213, China
Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, 2332 AA, Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Biology, Plant Conservation and Population Biology, KU Leuven , Leuven 3000 ,
Department of Biology, Plant Conservation and Population Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium
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Chinese Academy of Sciences · Chengdu Institute of Biology
Affiliation as printed
China-Croatia Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Chengdu 610213 ,
Mountain Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Chengdu 610213 ,
1Mountain Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610213, China
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Chinese Academy of Sciences · Chengdu Institute of Biology
Affiliation as printed
China-Croatia Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Chengdu 610213 ,
Mountain Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Chengdu 610213 ,
1Mountain Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610213, China
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Affiliation as printed
School of Ecology and Environment, Zhengzhou University , Zhengzhou 450001 ,
School of Ecology and Environment, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
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Chinese Academy of Sciences · Chengdu Institute of Biology
Affiliation as printed
China-Croatia Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Chengdu 610213 ,
Mountain Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Chengdu 610213 ,
1Mountain Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610213, China
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Huajun Yin corresponding
Chinese Academy of Sciences · Chengdu Institute of Biology
Affiliation as printed
China-Croatia Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Chengdu 610213 ,
Mountain Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Chengdu 610213 ,
1Mountain Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610213, China
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