Arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi as an ecology indicator for evaluating desert soil conditions

Abstract

Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) fungi are the most common underground symbiosis. They can form vesicles and arbuscules in the roots of about 80% of plant species. In this paper, using the arbuscular mycorrhiza’s colonization as an evaluating indicator in combination with other experimental indicators, we composed a system of evaluating various indices to analyze desert soil conditions. A fuzzy optimization system model was introduced to analyze the experimental results. The results showed that the soil quality was Yulin>Ecology Station>Yanchi>Shapotou>Dingbian. ‘μ_i’, an indicator of soil quality, was the greatest in the topmost layer of soil, in the 0–10cm soil, at the sampling sites Yulin, Ecology Station, Yanchi and Dingbian. However, at Shapotou the maximum value of μ_i was found in the 10–20cm soil layer. The weight value of the AM fungal index ranged from 37% to 95% at different sites.

Keywords

arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) fungi / desert soil condition evaluation / fuzzy optimization model / Caragana korshinskii Kom.