Importance of dispersal and thermal environment for mycorrhizal communities: lessons from Yellowstone National Park

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) communities in Yellowstone National Park are primarily shaped by soil chemistry, particularly pH, rather than dispersal limitations or thermal environments. Despite significant differences in soil temperature and plant composition between geothermal and nonthermal grasslands, AMF distribution correlated strongly with soil pH-driven chemical changes. Experimental evidence further demonstrated that two AMF morphospecies, Paraglomus occultum and Scutellospora pellucida, thrive in acidic conditions, supporting niche theory over dispersal constraints at this scale. Bison feces suggest these fungi may also disperse via wide-ranging herbivores. The study challenges the assumption of ubiquitous microbial distribution, emphasizing environmental filtering as the dominant force structuring AMF communities.

Lekberg, Y., Meadow, J., Rohr, J. R., Redecker, D., & Zabinski, C. A. (2011). Importance of dispersal and thermal environment for mycorrhizal communities: lessons from Yellowstone National Park. Ecology, 92(6), 1292–1302. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1890/10-1516.1