Mycorrhizal colonization of chenopods and its influencing factors in different saline habitats, China

Chenopodiaceae is one of the most important families in arid and saline environments. Several studies have observed the mycorrhizal structure in Chenopodiaceae plants (i.e., chenopods), but the mycorrhizal colonization status of chenopods in saline habitats and the influencing factors are still not well understood. The mycorrhizal colonization of twenty chenopod species in three different saline habitats (a saline alkaline meadow in the Songnen Plain of northeastern China, a saline desert in the Junggar Basin of northwestern China, and a saline alpine meadow in the Tibetan Plateau of western China) and the chenopod-associated environmental factors (including soil moisture, soil available phosphorous (P) concentration, pH, and salt content) were analyzed. Our results showed that approximately 60% of the studied chenopods were colonized by arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi with a colonization percentage ranging from 5% to 33%. Structural analysis of mycorrhizal association indicated that vesicles were quite common, while arbuscules and hyphal coils were relatively rare. In addition, a positive correlation between mycorrhizal colonization rate and soil electrical conductivity (r=0.920, P<0.01) and two negative correlations of mycorrhizal colonization rates with soil moisture (r=–0.818, P<0.01) and the soil available P concentration (r=–0.876, P<0.01) confirmed that mycorrhizal colonization rate in the roots of chenopods was environment-dependent.