Contrasting Diversity and Network Dynamics of Soil Fungal Functional Groups in the Plant Rhizosphere

Urban Farm DB summary

In urban farming fields of different ages and multiple genotypes, the relative abundance, richness, and microbial networks of putative plant pathogenic, mycorrhizal, and saprotrophic fungi in the rhizosphere were tracked over two years. Pathogenic fungal abundance was higher in older fields than younger fields, consistent with pathogen accumulation over time, while mycorrhizal fungal abundance decreased in older fields and saprotrophic abundance remained similar between younger and older fields. Mycorrhizal fungal richness declined in older fields and over the two years, with a corresponding decrease in network links, whereas saprotrophic fungi showed increased network links in older fields and pathogenic fungal networks remained similar across fields.