BUSCADOR RECOLECTA

We sampled 15 individuals along a random transect with a length proportional to each fragment size (i.e. 225 individuals across fragments). The individuals sampled represent the relative abundances of the plant species in each fragment. Fungal DNA was extracted of the roots of each plant individual. All analyses were performed in the free software environment R version 3.5.2. R Core Team, R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. 2013, (2015)., R code (R v. 3.5.2) to perform the simulations to assess whether the rewiring of mycorrhizae interactions is phylogenetically conserved (i.e. the non-preferred hosts tend to be close relatives to the preferred hosts)., Impacto de la fragmentación del hábitat en la diversidad de hongos MA en ecosistemas de yesos como indicador de vulnerabilidad al cambio climático (CGL2013-42312-R), Peer reviewed

Mycorrhizal symbiosis has important implications for the diversity and productivity of plant communities. However, our mechanistic understanding of its influence on the outcome of plant-plant interactions is still expanding. In this review we propose a framework that might be useful to efficiently approach the effects of mycorrhizal fungi (MF) on plant-plant interactions. We propose several scenarios that can theoretically result in different outcomes of plant-plant interactions based on the combination of two processes: the diversity of resources provided by MF taxa to their host (resource dissimilarity) and contrasting ways of distributing those resources (resource distribution). Then, we illustrate our arguments with different ecological contexts where certain combinations of these two processes are prone to occur. The proposed framework suggests testable hypotheses that can contribute to elucidate relevant processes underlying the effects of mycorrhizal symbiosis on plant-plant interactions., AMN was supported by a postdoctoral contract from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (FPDI-2013-16266; IJCI-2015-23498) and the National Research Program for Development and Innovation CGL2013-42312-R/BOS. Financial support was also provided by PAPIIT-DGAPA-UNAM (IN-213414-3; IN-210117), the regional government Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEO/2016/021, GV/2016/187), and Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (CGL2014-53840-REDT; CGL2014-58333-P).

Although ecological networks are usually considered a static representation of species’ interactions, the interactions can change when the preferred partners are absent (rewiring). In mutualistic networks, rewiring with non-preferred partners can palliate extinction cascades, contributing to communities’ stability. In spite of its significance, whether general patterns can shape the rewiring of ecological interactions remains poorly understood. Here, we show a phylogenetic constraint in the rewiring of mycorrhizal networks, so that rewired interactions (i.e., with non-preferred hosts) tend to involve close relatives of preferred hosts. Despite this constraint, rewiring increases the robustness of the fungal community to the simulated loss of their host species. We identify preferred and non-preferred hosts based on the probability that, when the two partners co-occur, they actually interact. Understanding general patterns in the rewiring of interactions can improve our predictions of community responses to interactions’ loss, which influences how global changes will affect ecosystem stability., Financial support was provided by the Spanish National Research Program for Development and Innovation CGL2013-42312-R / BOS. AMN was supported by a postdoctoral contract from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (FPDI-2013-16266; IJCI‐ 2015‐23498).

The epiphytic vascular mycobiota is scarce and facultative in semi-arid Mediterranean ecosystems. However, unlike in soil conditions, little is known about the factors driving mycorrhizal communities in epiphytic environments. Here, we investigated the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) harboured by 31 plant species occurring on the trunks of Phoenix dactylifera. We wanted to ascertain if host identity and plant functional traits shape mycorrhizal communities. Specifically, we tested the plant life-cycle (perennial versus annual), the plant life-form (herbaceous versus woody), the plant origin (exotic versus native) and the plant species. The plant affiliation to species strongly influenced the AMF community composition. Plant life-form and plant life-cycle also shaped indicator taxa. The AMF structure differed between annual and perennial species and higher AMF richness was detected in perennial plants. The epiphytic plants associated with AMF irrespective of whether they were native or not, probably because here no functional differences derive from plant origin., M.M. Alguacil was supported by the Ramon and Cajal programme (Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, Spain). This research was supported by the Spanish Plan Nacional-FEDER Projects CGL-2015-64168-R and CGL2013-42312-R., Peer Reviewed