2026-09-29 中国科学院（CAS）
＜関連情報＞
- https://english.cas.cn/newsroom/research-news/202609/t20260929_1201565.shtml
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-026-03964-4
菌根の構成と種の優占度は、環境勾配に対する森林植物の多様性と個体数の反応を左右する Mycorrhizal composition and species dominance mediate forest plant richness and abundance responses to environmental gradients
Bo Liu, Yu Liang, Xinli Chen, Zikun Mao, Wentao Luo, Tao Sun, Tianxiao Ma, Mia M. Wu, Zhihua Liu, Shijie Han, Xugao Wang, Jian Yang & Hong S. He
Communications Earth & Environment Published:29 August 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-026-03964-4 Early provide
Abstract
Understanding how biotic interactions shape forest communities along environmental gradients remains a central challenge in ecology as the mechanisms regulating plant species richness and abundance are highly variable. Here, we examine how mycorrhizal composition and species dominance jointly shape species richness and abundance across the tree, shrub, and herb layers. Species richness peaks at intermediate levels of mycorrhizal dominance, especially in the tree layer, supporting the mycorrhizal mixture hypothesis. In contrast, strong species dominance generally reduces species richness but increases abundance across all vegetation layers, consistent with the relaxation of conspecific negative density dependence. Canopy mycorrhizal composition exerts cross-layer effects on shrubs and herbs, with arbuscular mycorrhizal dominated canopies facilitating higher understory richness but lower abundance than ectomycorrhizal dominated canopies. Environmental gradients primarily influence forest communities indirectly by regulating the prevalence of mycorrhizal strategies and species dominance. We provide an alternative mechanism involving mycorrhizal symbiosis and interspecific competition that reconciles the divergent patterns of species richness and abundance observed in temperate and boreal forests.
