The role of habitat patchiness and environmental gradients

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Table of contents

1 Introduction
1.1 Global change
1.2 Mountain grassland
1.3 Plant-soil interactions
1.4 Thesis outline
1.5 References
2 Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in changing mountain grassland ecosystems – a challenge for research
2.1 Abstract
2.2 Résumé
2.3 Introduction
2.3.1 Mountain vegetation under global change
2.3.2 AMF and their relationship to plants
2.3.3 AMF response to global change
2.3.4 Time to reassess
2.4 AMF in mountain ecosystems
2.4.1 AMF performance and distribution along altitudinal gradients
2.4.2 The role of habitat patchiness and environmental gradients
2.4.3 AMF along succession gradients
2.4.4 The role of host identity and its neighbouring plants
2.4.5 AMF interaction with other soil microbes and above-ground symbionts in mountain ecosystems
2.4.6 Applying the present knowledge
2.4.7 Outlining the functioning of AMF–plant interaction along an altitudinal gradient
2.4.8 Future research on AMF along altitudinal gradients
2.5 AMF in changing mountain ecosystems
2.5.1 Climate change: the effects of warming and altered precipitation on AMF in mountain ecosystems
2.5.2 Mountain AMF and altered atmospheric chemistry and nutrient enrichment
2.5.3 Land use change
2.5.4 Interaction of global change factors
2.5.5 Outlining the functioning of the AMF–plant relationship along an altitudinal gradient under future global change conditions
2.5.6 Future research on AMF in changing mountain ecosystems
2.6 Conclusion and perspectives
2.7 Acknowledgements
2.8 References
3 Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi along an altitudinal gradient in the Central European Alps
3.1 Abstract
3.2 Introduction
3.3 Study site
3.4 Material and methods
3.5 Results
3.5.1 Soil properties
3.5.2 AMF abundance in the soil
3.5.3 AMF colonisation rate
3.6 Discussion
3.7 Conclusion
3.8 References
4 Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi along altitudinal gradients under climate change conditions
4.1 Abstract
4.2 Introduction
4.3 Material and Methods
4.3.1 Study site
4.3.2 Transplantation process
4.3.3 Soil sampling
4.3.4 Determining AMF abunance in the soil
4.3.5 Root sampling
4.3.6 Analysis of fungal colonisation
4.3.7 Data analysis
4.4 Results
4.4.1 Soil properties
4.4.2 Abundance of AMF in the soil microbial community
4.4.3 AMF root colonisation rate
4.5 Discussion
4.6 Conclusion
4.7 Acknowledgements
4.8 References
5 Effects of AMF, climate change and plant diversity on plant productivity
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Material and Methods
5.2.1 Seed and soil collection
5.2.2 Experimental design
5.2.3 Soil sterilisation and microbial wash
5.2.4 Seed germination
5.2.5 Temperature and air humidity
5.2.6 Irrigation
5.2.7 Plant sampling
5.2.7 Soil sampling
5.2.8 DNA extraction and quantification
5.2.9 PCR amplification of target regions
5.2.10 Control of sequence quality, OTU clustering, and taxonomic assignment
5.2.11 Competitive effect
5.2.12 Statistical analysis
5.3 Results
5.3.1 Glomeromycota and microbial community
5.3.2 Effects of AMF presence on plant biomass production
5.3.3 Effect of future climate factors on plant biomass production
5.3.4 Effects of AMF presence on plant competitiveness
5.3.5 Effects of future climate factors on plant competitiveness
5.4 Discussion
5.5 Conclusions
5.6 Acknowledgements
5.7 References
6 Synthesis
6.1 A novel framework to assess the AMF-plant relationship along altitudinal gradients
6.2 AMF in mountain grassland ecosystems
6.3 Climate change effects on AMF in mountain grassland ecosystems
6.4 Outlook
6.5 Conclusion
6.6 References
Appendices
Appendix 1: Supplementary material for Chapter 2
Appendix 2: Supplementary materials for Chapter 4
Curriculum Vitae
Publications and Presentations
Résumé
Abstract