Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi diversity associated with two halophytes Lycium barbarum L. and Elaeagnus angustifolia L. in Ningxia, China

The Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) community in saline soils of Ningxia, China, was rarely reported. Soils in the rhizosphere of two important food plants, Lycium barbarum L. (Goji) and Elaeagnus angustifolia L. (Oleaster), were sampled from Ningxia (Goji from Huinong, HNGQ; Goji from Yinchuan, YCGQ; Oleaster from Yinchuan, YCSZ) to investigate the AMF community. Thirty-three AMF species from 11 genera were identified in total. The dominant family and genera were Glomeraceae, Acaulospora and Glomus, respectively. Septoglomus constrictum was the most abundant species. The AMF community composition of Goji was different from that of Oleaster (R=0.26, p<0.05), while the AMF community from Huinong differed from Yinchuan (R=1.0, p=0.01). These findings suggest a high AMF diversity in Ningxia saline soils and the effect of host plant identity on AMF community composition. Furthermore, the AMF diversity index positively correlated with available potassium (AK), available phosphorus (AP), available nitrogen (AN) and organic matter (OM), but negatively correlated with electric conductivity (EC). This result demonstrated that a high level of salinity might reduce soil fertility and AMF diversity. The saline area with high diversity of the AMF community in Ningxia is promising for screening AMF isolates for utilization in crop production.