Arbuscule mycorrhizae: A linkage between erosion and plant processes in a southwest grassland

Abstract

Plant and soil processes within a natural ecosystem interact with surface hydrology through their influence on surface roughness, soil structure, and evaporation, and through their relation with soil biota. In the Southwest, decreases in perennial grass cover and erosion on uplands and stream channels can initiate a decline in watershed condition. Agronomic literature has recognized the role of the vesiculararbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM) in maintaining soil structure and aggregate stability, seeing beyond the plant nutritional relationship of the host and endophyte. Results confirm the role of VAM hyphae as a primary mechanism in the binding of microaggregates into macroaggregates. Little is understood as to how this relationship functions in natural ecosystems, particularly in terms of its role in the erosion process. This paper describes the perennial grass community and its associated VA-mycorrhizal fungi, quantifies changes in the mycorrhizae and physical soil factors following an erosion event and fire disturbance, and describes the role of VA-mycorrhizal fungi in maintaining soil structure through aggregate stability.

Parent Publication

• Land Stewardship in the 21st Century: The Contributions of Watershed Management; 2000 March 13-16; Tucson, AZ

Citation

O'Dea, Mary; Guertin, D. Phillip; Reid, C. P. P. 2000. Arbuscule mycorrhizae: A linkage between erosion and plant processes in a southwest grassland. In: Ffolliott, Peter F.; Baker Jr., Malchus B.; Edminster, Carleton B.; Dillon, Madelyn C.; Mora, Karen L., tech. coords. Land Stewardship in the 21st Century: The Contributions of Watershed Management; 2000 March 13-16; Tucson, AZ. Proc. RMRS-P-13. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 257-260.