Plant Density Shapes Mycorrhizal Network Specialization in Temperate Forests: Insights from Elevational Gradients

doi:10.1093/jpe/rtag054

J Plant Ecol ›› Advance articles DOI:10.1093/jpe/rtag054

• Research Article • Next Articles

Plant Density Shapes Mycorrhizal Network Specialization in Temperate Forests: Insights from Elevational Gradients

Litao Lin^1,2, Yulin Kang^1,2*, Shuang Zhang³, Nana Liu⁴, Keming Ma^3,5*

¹ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment; Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China;
² Institute of Environmental Information; Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China;
³ State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China;
⁴ College of Ecology, Resources and Environment, Dezhou University, Dezhou, Shandong 253023, China
⁵ University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
^*Correspondence: Yulin Kang, E-mail: kangyulin@craes.org.cn; Keming Ma, Email: mkm@rcees.ac.cn

Received:2025-10-19 Accepted:2026-03-13 Published:2026-03-26
Supported by:
The financial support for this work is the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31470481) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Public-interest Scientific Institution (2025YSKY-11).

植物密度影响温带森林菌根共生关系网络特异性：基于海拔梯度的研究

Abstract

Abstract: Mycorrhizal association networks, which represent community-level bitrophic interactions between plants and fungi, consistently exhibit distinct topological patterns across ecosystems. Clarifying their elevation-related dynamics is crucial for predicting the effects of climate change on plant community assembly and ecosystem resilience. On the basis of a systematic sampling of plant roots across ten elevational belts in an oak-dominated forest, we investigated the effects of elevation on mycorrhizal network specialization as well as the relative contributions of climate, plant, and soil characteristics. Our results revealed that (1) plant diversity decreased and mycorrhizal fungal diversity increased as the elevation increased. (2) Ten mycorrhizal network displayed elevated specialization (H’₂) at mid-elevation zones and subalpine treelines and exhibited a hollow-shaped variation in terms of the standard effect size of H’₂ (SES(H’₂)) and species specialization of plants (SES(d’)), indicating that the high H’₂ at subalpine treelines was mainly caused by passive sampling. (3) The SES(H’₂) exhibited significantly positive relationships with plant diversity, litter thickness, and soil moisture, whereas soil parameters had negligible effects. (4) Fungal species specialization (SES(d’)) increased along with increases in the plant diversity, litter thickness, plant crown density, and soil moisture, implying that plant and climate filters governed fungal partner selection. Our findings indicate that the plant diversity and climate condition—rather than edaphic factors—serves as determinants of mycorrhizal network specialization in temperate forest ecosystems.

Investigating elevational dynamics of mycorrhizal networks in an oak-dominated forest, researchers found mid-elevation/subalpine treeline specialization (H’₂) elevation (latter passive sampling), SES(H’₂) positively linked to plant diversity/litter thickness/soil moisture, SES(d’) rising with plant diversity/climate factors, concluding plant diversity and climate dominate network specialization over edaphic factors.

Key words: mycorrhizal associations, specialization, elevation, biodiversity, crown density

摘要：
菌根共生关系网络表征了群落尺度植物-真菌间跨营养级相互作用，在不同生态系统中常呈现出特定网络拓扑结构。阐明菌根共生关系网络拓扑特征随海拔变化的演变格局，对于预测气候变化对植物群落构建及生态系统恢复力的影响至关重要。本研究以辽东栎林10个海拔带为研究系统，对植物根系进行的系统采样，探析海拔对菌根网络特异性水平的影响，以及气候、植物和土壤特征对网络特异性的驱动贡献。（1）研究结果显示，随海拔增加植物多样性显著降低，而菌根真菌多样性显著增加。（2） 10个样带菌根共生关系网络中，中海拔带和亚高山林线处表现出较高的特异性指数H’₂，且其标准效应量SES (H’₂)和植物物种特化度SES (d’)均呈下凹型变化，说明亚高山林线处的高H’₂主要由被动采样导致。（3） SES (H’₂)与植物多样性、凋落物厚度和土壤湿度呈显著正相关关系，而土壤因素相关性较弱。（4）真菌物种特异性标准效应量SES (d’)随植物多样性、凋落物厚度、植物冠层密度和土壤湿度的增加而显著提高，说明植物和气候过滤机制主导了共生对象的选择。研究结果表明在温带森林生态系统中，决定菌根共生关系网络特化的是植物多样性和气候因素，而非土壤因素。

关键词: 菌根共生关系, 特异性, 海拔, 生物多样性, 冠层盖度

Litao Lin, Yulin Kang, Shuang Zhang, Nana Liu, Keming Ma. Plant Density Shapes Mycorrhizal Network Specialization in Temperate Forests: Insights from Elevational Gradients[J]. J Plant Ecol, DOI: 10.1093/jpe/rtag054.

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Plant Density Shapes Mycorrhizal Network Specialization in Temperate Forests: Insights from Elevational Gradients

植物密度影响温带森林菌根共生关系网络特异性：基于海拔梯度的研究

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