Spatial distribution characteristics of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the rhizosphere of halophytes Phragmites australis in Xinjiang

In order to elucidate the spatial distribution characteristics of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in rhizosphere of halophyte, roots and soil samples in the rhizosphere of Phragmites australis from three typical sites in northern Xinjiang were collected at 0-10, 10-20, 20-30, 30-40 and 40-50 cm depth. The results showed that AM fungi could form symbiotic relationship with P. australis although salinization was main limiting factor for spatial distribution of AM fungi. AM fungi colonization rates and spore density were significantly different in different depth of saline soil. Colonization and arbuscule abundance of AM fungi had significant difference among three sites, and gradually decreased with the increase of soil depth, which reached the maximum in the 0-10 cm layer. Spore density also decreased with the increase of soil depth, which had the highest spore densities in the layer of 0-20 cm. Correlation analysis showed that spore density had very significant negative correlation (P<0.01) with the soil pH, electrical conductivity and available K. Colonization rate, infection intensity, arbuscule and hypha abundance had very significant positive correlation (P<0.01) with soil available P and available K, but had very significant negative correlation (P<0.01) with soil organic matter. The results provided reference for the usage of halophytes AM fungi resources and promote the vegetation repair and ecological restoration in saline land.