Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play an important role in maintaining plant diversity and productivity in grassland ecosystems. However, very few studies have investigated how AMF and plant communities co‐vary between contrasting environments in natural ecosystems. Intensive sampling (50 soil samples) was conducted in natural open grasslands at both 3570 and 4556 m on Mount Segrila on the Southeast Tibetan Plateau. We used 454‐pyrosequencing to investigate soil AMF communities and to explore relationships between AMF diversity and plant richness, productivity and community composition. AMF diversity was negatively correlated with plant richness at 3570 m but positively at 4556 m. Differences in AMF community composition between elevations were attributable to plant community composition, soil pH and available phosphorus concentration. The AMF community was more phylogenetically clustered at the higher elevation than the lower elevation. However, greater phylogenetic clustering (under dispersion) of AMF communities at the two elevations was positively correlated with above‐ground biomass. Our results indicate that plant community composition and environmental filtering are the primary drivers structuring the AMF community. Phylogenetic relatedness may be important in explaining the function of AMF communities in alpine ecosystems.

中文翻译：

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高山生态系统中高海拔和低海拔植物与菌根真菌群落组成变化之间的联系。

丛枝菌根真菌（AMF）在维持草地生态系统中的植物多样性和生产力方面起着重要作用。但是，很少有研究调查AMF和植物群落如何在自然生态系统的不同环境之间变化。在青藏高原东南部塞格里拉山的3570和4556 m的天然开阔草地上进行了密集采样（50个土壤采样）。我们使用454焦磷酸测序来研究土壤AMF群落，并探讨AMF多样性与植物丰富度，生产力和群落组成之间的关系。在3570 m处，AMF多样性与植物丰富度呈负相关，在4556 m处呈正相关。海拔之间AMF群落组成的差异可归因于植物群落组成，土壤pH和有效磷浓度。AMF群落在更高的海拔上比更低的海拔上更系统地聚集。但是，在两个海拔高度上，AMF群落的更大的系统发育聚类（在分散状态下）与地上生物量呈正相关。我们的结果表明，植物群落组成和环境过滤是构成AMF群落的主要驱动力。系统发育相关性可能在解释AMF群落在高山生态系统中的功能中很重要。我们的结果表明，植物群落组成和环境过滤是构成AMF群落的主要驱动力。系统发育相关性可能在解释AMF群落在高山生态系统中的功能中很重要。我们的结果表明，植物群落组成和环境过滤是构成AMF群落的主要驱动力。系统发育相关性可能在解释AMF群落在高山生态系统中的功能中很重要。