Phosphorus (P) acquisition is key for plant growth. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) help plants acquire P from soil. Understanding which factors drive AMF-supported nutrient uptake is essential to develop more sustainable agroecosystems. Here we collected soils from 150 cereal fields and 60 non-cropped grassland sites across a 3,000 km trans-European gradient. In a greenhouse experiment, we tested the ability of AMF in these soils to forage for the radioisotope ³³P from a hyphal compartment. AMF communities in grassland soils were much more efficient in acquiring ³³P and transferred 64% more ³³P to plants compared with AMF in cropland soils. Fungicide application best explained hyphal ³³P transfer in cropland soils. The use of fungicides and subsequent decline in AMF richness in croplands reduced ³³P uptake by 43%. Our results suggest that land-use intensity and fungicide use are major deterrents to the functioning and natural nutrient uptake capacity of AMF in agroecosystems.

磷 (P) 的获取对于植物生长至关重要。丛枝菌根真菌 (AMF) 帮助植物从土壤中获取磷。了解哪些因素驱动 AMF 支持的养分吸收对于开发更可持续的农业生态系统至关重要。在这里，我们从跨欧洲 3,000 公里梯度的 150 个谷物田和 60 个未耕种草地收集了土壤。在温室实验中，我们测试了这些土壤中 AMF 从菌丝室中获取放射性同位素³³ P 的能力。与农田土壤中的 AMF 相比，草原土壤中的 AMF 群落获取³³ P 的效率要高得多，并且向植物转移的³³ P 多 64%。杀菌剂的应用最好地解释了农田土壤中菌丝³³ P 的转移。杀菌剂的使用和随后农田 AMF 丰富度的下降使³³ P 吸收量减少了 43%。我们的研究结果表明，土地利用强度和杀菌剂的使用是农业生态系统中 AMF 功能和天然养分吸收能力的主要障碍。