Diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in soils of yam (Dioscorea spp.) cropping systems in four agroecologies of Nigeria
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Date
2012
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Taylor & Francis
Abstract
The diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in soils under a yam cropping
system in four agroecologies of Nigeria was investigated. Soil samples were
collected from yam fields at Onne (humid forest, high rainfall area), Ibadan
(derived savanna), Abuja (Guinea savanna) and Ubiaja (humid forest, medium
rainfall area). Soil characteristics, AM fungi species, spore abundance, Shannon
diversity index, species richness and evenness were determined. A total of 31 AM
fungi species was isolated from the four agroecologies with a range of 14–20
species found in a single location. Glomus species were the most abundant among
AM fungi species with G. geosporum, G. intraradices and G. mosseae occurring in
large populations in all locations. Ubiaja, which had a cassava/natural vegetation
sequence before yam, had significantly higher spore abundance and species
richness than the other locations, which had a yam/legumes or a maize/legume
sequence before yam. However, diversity was significantly higher at Abuja, which
had a maize/legume sequence with yam, than Ibadan, which had only a yam/
legume sequence. The study revealed significant diversity in AM fungal species
across agroecologies in yam-growing regions. Further research on the functional
consequences of changing composition of AM fungi species across the region is
recommended.
Description
This article is Published by Taylor & Francis 2012, and is also available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03650340.2011.653682
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Citation
Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science Vol. 59, No. 4, April 2013, 521–531