Carlos Guillermo Bueno

Predicting which non-native plant species will become established and where is critical for conserving and managing biodiversity. Theory suggests that the mycorrhizal strategy of non-native plants may predict their establishment success. Here we combine a global dataset of 440,788 vegetation plots with data on plant native status and mycorrhizal type to assess mycorrhizal strategy of non-native plants. The mycorrhizal strategy of non-native plants varies strongly across biomes. Across grassland and desert biomes, non-native species are more frequently non-mycorrhizal than native species, whereas in other biomes non-native species are more likely to be mycorrhizal, most commonly arbuscular-mycorrhizal. Disturbance type and intensity are key predictors of mycorrhizal strategy of non-native species, as mycorrhizal species are favoured by landscape modification and non-mycorrhizal species by natural and human-caused disturbance events. Facultatively mycorrhizal species are consistently under-represented among non-native plants compared with natives, suggesting that symbiotic flexibility does not confer an advantage for non-natives as previously expected. Our study shows that non-native mycorrhizal strategy varies across biogeographical contexts and disturbance, highlighting the need for region-specific prevention and management approaches to plant species introductions.

Sex‐biased herbivory is a potential mechanism for maintaining female‐biased sex ratios in Arctic and alpine willows, which are consumed by taxonomically diverse herbivores. Differences in feeding preferences of these herbivores may determine synergistic or antagonistic pressures on populations of their shared food plants. We investigated the foraging preferences of two alpine herbivores, a caterpillar and a small mammal, both feeding on the widespread, dioecious tundra shrub Salix arctica , at different times of the growing season. The caterpillars of the Arctic moth Gynaephora groenlandica beringiana are active in the early summer, while collared pikas Ochotona collaris are most active later in the summer. We used cafeteria‐type experiments to evaluate preferences for male and female leaves of S. arctica and found that the two herbivores showed different patterns in their feeding preferences. Caterpillars preferred male plants in early summer, feeding on male leaves nearly twice as much as female leaves, while collared pikas showed no preference between undamaged male and female S. arctica leaves later in the season. Sex‐biased herbivory by sequential, co‐occurring herbivores may have consequences for the population dynamics of dioecious plants. The cumulative effects of these different herbivores on plant population dynamics should be considered in highly seasonal environments, particularly if the relative balance of caterpillar and pika herbivory changes in the future.

Las áreas rurales proporcionan la mayoría de los Servicios Ecosistémicos (SE) a todo el territorio. La despoblación supone un enorme reto socioeconómico y medioambiental por las múltiples consecuencias del abandono rural sobre la cohesión social, vertebración territorial, uso sostenible de los recursos naturales, adaptación al cambio climático, conservación de la biodiversidad y los ecosistemas. Sin embargo, no se ha investigado el efecto que puede tener la recuperación de pueblos abandonados en los ecosistemas y los SE que proporcionan. En España, es especialmente delicada la situación de las zonas montañosas, que han experimentado despoblación severa en el último siglo a consecuencia del decaimiento demográfico y la venta y expropiación de tierras para la reforestación masiva. Este trabajo estudia los efectos de la restauración de la población de pueblos abandonados de montaña sobre ocho SE, comparando este tipo de núcleos con aquellos que permanecen despoblados y con los que han estado permanentemente habitados, en el Sistema Central y los Pirineos. Este trabajo aporta las primeras evidencias sobre los efectos de la repoblación de núcleos rurales deshabitados en un amplio rango de SE: soporte, regulación, abastecimiento y culturales. Los núcleos restaurados mostraron niveles elevados de servicios de regulación y soporte respecto a los habitados, al tiempo que recuperan de manera significativa (respecto a los despoblados) los servicios culturales y, en menor medida, algunos de abastecimiento. Estos resultados pueden ayudar al diseño de herramientas y políticas públicas de ordenación del territorio para compaginar la sostenibilidad económica, social y ambiental, y una provisión equilibrada de servicios ecosistémicos.

Mycorrhizal symbiosis, specifically arbuscular mycorrhiza, is one of Earth's oldest and most widespread symbiosis. Existing evidence suggests that plant species differ in their associations with mycorrhizal partners, with different species reported to be always (obligately mycorrhizal, OM), sometimes (facultatively mycorrhizal, FM) or never (non‐mycorrhizal, NM) associating with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and this plant reliance on AM fungi is called plant mycorrhizal status. However, very little is known about how host plant mycorrhizal status shapes the network topology of interacting AM fungi. Here, we use a standardized sampling scheme to test whether plant species with different mycorrhizal statuses differ in mean AM fungal hyphal colonization and various indices of the AM fungal networks such as nestedness rank and resource range. We collected the roots and rhizosphere soil of 19 plant species representing five families. Each plant species was sampled from three distinct habitats. We determined AM fungal colonization in the roots and AM fungal community composition in roots and rhizosphere soil using molecular methods. We found that previously reported NM plant species had lower mean AM fungal colonization than FM plant species, but no differences were found between FM and OM plant species. Network analyses indicated that AM fungal communities in the roots of FM plant species had higher nestedness rank and resource range than networks associated with OM plant species, suggesting that OM plant species are more generalist regarding partner selection and interact with a wider range of fungal partners. Our results suggest that plant mycorrhizal status conveys useful information about the characteristics of AM fungal interaction networks, revealing that plant species consistently associated with AM fungi are less selective towards their fungal partners. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Summary: Global assessments of mycorrhizal symbiosis present large sampling gaps in rich biodiversity regions. Filling these gaps is necessary to build large‐scale, unbiased mycorrhizal databases to obtain reliable analyses and prevent misleading generalizations. Underrepresented regions in mycorrhizal research are mainly in Africa, Asia, and South America. Despite the high biodiversity and endemism in these regions, many groups of organisms remain understudied, especially mycorrhizal fungi. In this Viewpoint, we emphasize the importance of inclusive and collaborative continental efforts in integrating perspectives for comprehensive trait database development and propose a conceptual framework that can help build large mycorrhizal databases in underrepresented regions. Based on the four Vs of big data (volume, variety, veracity, and velocity), we identify the main challenges of constructing a large mycorrhizal dataset and propose solutions for each challenge. We share our collaborative methodology, which involves employing open calls and working groups to engage all mycorrhizal researchers in the region to build a South American Mycorrhizal Database. By fostering interdisciplinary collaborations and embracing a continental‐scale approach, we can create robust mycorrhizal trait databases that provide valuable insights into the evolution, ecology, and functioning of mycorrhizal associations, reducing the geographical biases that are so common in large‐scale ecological studies.

The Andean paramo, hereafter “paramo”, is a Neotropical high-mountain region between the treeline and permanent snowline (3500–4800 m) and is considered the world’s coolest biodiversity hotspot. Because of paramo’s high humidity, solar radiation and temperature variation, mycorrhizal symbiosis is expected to be essential for plants. Existing theory suggests that replacement of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) by ectomycorrhizal (ECM) and then ericoid mycorrhizal plants (ERM) can be expected with increasing elevation. Previous findings also suggest that non-(NM) and facultatively mycorrhizal (FM) species predominate over obligatory mycorrhizal (OM) species at high elevations. However, these expectations have never been tested outside of the northern temperate zone. We addressed the distribution and environmental drivers of plant mycorrhizal types (AM, ECM and ERM) and statuses (NM, FM and OM) along the paramo’s elevational gradient. We used vegetation plots from the VegParamo database, climatic and edaphic data from online repositories, and up-to-date observation information about plant mycorrhizal traits at species and genus level, the latter being proposed as hypotheses. AM plants were dominant along the entire gradient, and ERM plants were most abundant at the lowest elevations (2500–3000 m). The share of FM plants increased and that of OM plants decreased with elevation, while NM plants increased above 4000 m. Temperature and soil pH were positively related to the abundance of AM plants and negatively to ERM plants. Our results reveal patterns that contrast with those observed in temperate northern-hemisphere ecosystems.

Mycorrhizal symbioses are known to strongly influence plant performance, structure plant communities and shape ecosystem dynamics. Plant mycorrhizal traits, such as those characterising mycorrhizal type (arbuscular (AM), ecto‐, ericoid or orchid mycorrhiza) and status (obligately (OM), facultatively (FM) or non‐mycorrhizal) offer valuable insight into plant belowground functionality. Here, we compile available plant mycorrhizal trait information and global occurrence data (100 million records) for 11,770 vascular plant species. Using a plant phylogenetic mega‐tree and high‐resolution climatic and edaphic data layers, we assess phylogenetic and environmental correlates of plant mycorrhizal traits. We find that plant mycorrhizal type is more phylogenetically conserved than plant mycorrhizal status, while environmental variables (both climatic and edaphic; notably soil texture) explain more variation in mycorrhizal status, especially FM. The previously underestimated role of environmental conditions has far‐reaching implications for our understanding of ecosystem functioning under changing climatic and soil conditions.

Native wild boar (Sus scrofa) populations are expanding across Europe. This is cause for concern in some areas where overabundant populations impact natural ecosystems and adjacent agronomic systems. To better manage the potential for impacts, managers require more information about how the species may affect other organisms. For example, information regarding the effect of wild boar on soil fungi for management application is lacking. Soil fungi play a fundamental role in ecosystems, driving essential ecological functions; acting as mycorrhizal symbionts, sustaining plant nutrition and providing defense; as saprotrophs, regulating the organic matter decomposition; or as plant pathogens, regulating plant fitness and survival. During autumn (Sep–Nov) 2018, we investigated the effects of wild boar (presence/absence and rooting intensity) on the abundance (number of individuals) of fungal sporocarps and their functional guilds (symbiotic, saprotrophic and pathogenic). We selected eleven forested sites (400–500 × 150–200 m) in central Sweden; six with and five without the presence of wild boar. Within each forest, we selected one transect (200 m long), and five plots (2 × 2 m each) for sites without wild boar, and ten plots for sites with boars (five within and five outside wild boar disturbances), to determine the relationship between the intensity of rooting and the abundance of sporocarps for three fungal guilds. We found that the presence of wild boar and rooting intensity were associated with the abundance of sporocarps. Interestingly, this relationship varied depending on the fungal guild analyzed, where wild boar rooting had a positive correlation with saprophytic sporocarps and a negative correlation with symbiotic sporocarps. Pathogenic fungi, in turn, were more abundant in undisturbed plots (no rooting) but located in areas with the presence of wild boar. Our results indicate that wild boar activities can potentially regulate the abundance of fungal sporocarps, with different impacts on fungal guilds. Therefore, wild boar can affect many essential ecosystem functions driven by soil fungi in boreal forests, such as positive effects on energy rotation and in creating mineral availability to plants, which could lead to increased diversity of plants in boreal forests.