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Functional groups of soil fungi decline under grazing

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Abstract

Background and aims

Fungi play vital roles in organic matter decomposition, and mineralisation of phosphorus and nitrogen, are significant plant and animal pathogens, and major mutualistic symbionts with the roots of higher plants. Despite their importance, relatively little is known about the effects of livestock grazing on different functional groups of fungi.

Methods

We used structural equation modelling to examine how grazing by domestic livestock and native herbivores, and aridity, plant cover and soil carbon influenced four functional groups of soil fungi (ectomycorrhizal fungi, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, dung saprobes, plant pathogens) from three microsites (tree, shrub, grass) at 54 woodland sites across 0.4 million km2 of dryland in eastern Australia.

Results

Structural equation modelling showed that aridity influenced fungi indirectly by affecting different herbivores and by changing plant cover, which had different effects on different fungal groups. Rabbit grazing had a direct negative effect on ectomycorrhizal and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, most likely by disrupting hyphal networks through soil disturbance. Increased cattle grazing was directly positively associated with fungal dung saprobe abundance, and indirectly, negatively associated with dung saprobes by suppressing the positive effects of soil carbon. Sheep had direct and indirect negative effects on the abundance of plant pathogens.

Conclusions

Grazing was always an important predictor of the relative abundance of all fungal groups, either directly or indirectly. Thus, overgrazing is likely to have substantial effects on a range of important soil processes controlled by these microorganisms. Overall, our work indicates that increasing grazing, linked to on-going land use intensification to support a growing global population, will have major impacts on fungal functional groups.

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Acknowledgements

We thank James Val and Samantha Travers for all aspects of field work, Marta Ruiz-Colmenero, James Glasier and staff from OEH, Umwelt and Ecology Australia for assistance with some data collection and management, and Sarah Carr and Ian Oliver for project management. We thank two anonymous reviewers and Dr. Thomas Kuyper, Section Editor, for their positive comments that have helped improve the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia

    David J. Eldridge

  2. Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA

    Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo

  3. Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Calle Tulipán Sin Número, 28933, Móstoles, Spain

    Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo

Authors
  1. David J. Eldridge
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  2. Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo
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Correspondence to David J. Eldridge.

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Responsible Editor: Thom W. Kuyper.

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Eldridge, D.J., Delgado-Baquerizo, M. Functional groups of soil fungi decline under grazing. Plant Soil 426, 51–60 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-018-3617-6

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