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Root‐inhabiting fungal communities, including mutualists and antagonists, influence host plant performance, and can potentially shape plant community composition. However, there is uncertainty about how root‐inhabiting fungal communities are structured, and if fungal community characteristics are significant predictors of host plant abundance. In this study, we first assessed how root‐inhabiting fungal communities were structured in relation to the phylogeny and geographic origins (native vs. exotic) of their host plants in an old‐field community. In addition, we took into consideration the spatial arrangements (i.e. physical locations) of the individual host plants. We then tested if the relative abundances of pathogenic and beneficial arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi could predict host plant abundances. We found that host plant phylogeny was an important factor in structuring the whole fungal community, irrespective of host plant origin. Furthermore, the spatial arrangements of individual host plants were a strong predictor of AM fungal community structure. Host plant phylogeny and spatial arrangements appeared to similarly affect the structure of pathogenic fungal communities. No distinct differences were observed between native and exotic plant species in fungal community characteristics. The relative abundances of AM and pathogenic fungi were not significant predictors for observed abundances of their host plants. Synthesis. Host plant phylogeny and spatial arrangements can structure naturally occurring root‐inhabiting fungal communities. The absence of distinct differences in fungal community composition, including pathogens, in exotic and native plants suggests long residence times and the consequent naturalization of exotic species in the region, allowing for the establishment of similar plant–microbial interactions between native and exotic species.

Biofertilizers are a large part of the global agricultural economy. Recently, there has been an increase in the number of companies producing fungal inoculants. Whether these inoculants are useful is not clear; they are difficult to monitor in the field. The unintended consequences of inoculants in natural systems is not known, but if invasive, they may pose a threat to soil and plant biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. A plain language summary is available for this article.

Although arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are obligate symbionts that can influence plant growth, the magnitude and direction of these effects are highly variable within fungal genera and even among isolates within species, as well as among plant taxa. To determine whether variability in AM fungal morphology and growth is correlated with AM fungal effects on plant growth, we established a common garden experiment with 56 AM fungal isolates comprising 17 genera and six families growing with three plant host species. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal morphology and growth was highly conserved among isolates of the same species and among species within a family. By contrast, plant growth response to fungal inoculation was highly variable, with the majority of variation occurring among different isolates of the same AM fungal species. Our findings show that host performance cannot be predicted from AM fungal morphology and growth traits. Divergent effects on plant growth among isolates within an AM fungal species may be caused by coevolution between co-occurring fungal and plant populations.

Summary In North America, herbicides are commonly used to control non-native invasive plants on public wildlands. Little is known about the magnitude, efficacy and financial costs of this practice, although this information is crucial for policymakers, researchers, land managers, pesticide producers and the general public. In Canada and Mexico, herbicide usage data have not been tracked by agencies. In the USA, data archiving has been implemented by federal land managing agencies. However, while area sprayed and amounts of herbicides have been documented to varying degrees, efficacy and financial costs have not been recorded in a standardized and consistent manner and data publication has been insufficient. Based on requested data, we estimate that in the USA, half a million hectares of public wildlands were sprayed with herbicides in 2010, representing 201 tonnes. Although non-selective, glyphosate was the most commonly used active ingredient. Synthesis and applications. Increasing efforts by land management agencies to collect and share herbicide usage data is a key step towards narrowing the knowledge gap on herbicide usage in invasive non-native plant management on public wildlands. Land managers and policymakers in particular would benefit from an enhanced flow of information on efficacy, costs and effects of herbicides.

There is an urgent need for novel agronomic improvements capable of boosting crop yields while alleviating environmental impacts. One such approach is the use of optimized crop rotations. However, a set of measurements that can serve as guiding principles for the design of crop rotations is lacking. Crop rotations take advantage of niche complementarity, enabling the optimization of nutrient use and the reduction of pests and specialist pathogen loads. However, despite the recognized importance of plant-soil microbial interactions and feedbacks for crop yield and soil health, this is ignored in the selection and management of crops for rotation systems. We review the literature and propose criteria for the design of crop rotations focusing on the roles of soil biota and feedback on crop productivity and soil health. We consider that identifying specific key organisms or consortia capable of influencing plant productivity is more important as a predictor of soil health and crop productivity than assessing the overall soil microbial diversity per se. As such, we propose that setting up soil feedback studies and applying genetic sequencing tools towards the development of soil biotic community databases has a strong potential to enable the establishment of improved soil health indicators for optimized crop rotations.

Emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), is a major pest of ash trees, Fraxinus spp. (Oleaceae), in North America. This study investigated the timing of reproductive development in female beetles and the influence of female reproductive maturity on attraction to host volatiles. Based on dissections of females of increasing age, females with access to males for mating, and thus presumed mated, developed mature eggs only after 18–24 days. In contrast, female beetles reared without access to males, and thus unmated, did not develop mature eggs at any age. Chemical analysis of cuticular hydrocarbons detected the contact sex pheromone, 9-methyl-pentacosane, in cohorts of females which were 8–9 days old and older, supporting previous research that this compound signals sexual maturity to males. Results from field-trapping bioassays demonstrated that stage of female reproductive maturity influenced their attraction to host volatiles: females caught on traps baited with foliar volatiles contained eggs and ovarioles that were significantly less developed than those on traps baited with bark sesquiterpenes. However, our results revealed that females with immature stages of ovarioles and undeveloped eggs, such as those observed in unmated females, were rarely ever caught on traps baited with either of the host volatile lures. Further research on host compounds attractive to immature females is critical for early detection and possible control of A. planipennis populations during the extended pre-oviposition period.

Summary 1. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have been proposed as a mechanism to reduce nutrient inputs in agriculture, thereby reducing costs and increasing environmental sustainability. However, before this can be achieved, we need to gain a better understanding of the importance of the prolonged selective pressures acting on indigenous AMF communities. 2. Much research concentrates on short-term ecological soil · plant · AMF interactions. However, we have little understanding of how long-term manipulations of abiotic conditions can be strong selection agents for AMF communities. Here, we ask how the long-term management of soil fertility and fertilizer use can influence the AM symbiosis. More specifically, we investigated whether 70 years of consistently imposed nutrient limitations affected the structure and symbiotic functioning of indigenous AMF communities. 3. Using the long-term Static Nutrient Deficiency Experiment carried out since 1937 in Thyrow, Germany, with and without nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) additions, we addressed the following questions: (i) Do different soil fertilizer treatments affect the overall abundance and diversity of indigenous AMF in an agricultural field; and (ii) Does the depletion of a nutrient select for an enhanced AMF ability to supply the deficient nutrient? 4. We assessed AMF spore diversity in the field and established a common garden experiment where soil nutrient treatments were calibrated against those in the long-term field experiment. For each soil nutrient treatment, we compared the growth responses of barley plants to the indigenous AMF communities isolated from the different soil fertilization treatments in the field. 5. We found that the long-term use of specific soil fertilization treatments altered the effects of the AMF symbiosis on plant and fungal growth. Consistent with the optimal foraging theory, AMF from N- or P-deficient soils grew larger but reduced plant growth more in those conditions relative to AMF isolated from non-deficient soils. This could result from both community-level changes and ⁄ or adaptations within species. 6. Thus, we propose that the ongoing agronomic management of abiotic selective pressures such as soil fertility needs to be considered as a strong determinant of AMF symbiotic functioning.

A considerable amount of phenotypic, genetic and symbiotic functional variability has been documented in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). However, little is known about whether distinct AMF ecotypes have evolved within their geographic range. We tested the hypothesis that AMF growing at temperatures closer to those prevalent within their origin would benefit their host and grow more than isolates distant from their native conditions. For each of six AMF species, we chose pairs of isolates that originated from distant areas with contrasting climates. Each isolate was grown in association with two grass species of different thermal optima at two temperature settings. Thus, we also tested whether AMF from different climatic origins were dependent on the thermal adaptation of the host plant species or to temperature per se. Although fungal growth was not directly affected by temperature, we found that AMF isolates originating from contrasting climates consistently and differentially altered plant growth. Our results suggest that AMF from contrasting climates have altered symbiotic function, thus linking an abiotic factor to ecotypic differentiation of putatively important symbionts.

Summary 1. Plants can host microbial communities whose integrated functions are often responsible for their success. Understanding mechanisms regulating such functions is thus a major goal in ecology. 2. Fungal endophytes of grasses, particularly of the genus Neotyphodium , have been reported to reduce colonization of their host plant by arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. However, it is unclear which mechanism(s) may explain the effects produced by the endophyte and whether these effects are present in nature. 3. We used Schedonorus phoenix (syn. Lolium arundinaceum ) plants that were endophyte-free or infected with one of two strains of Neotyphodium coenophialum known to produce different putative allelochemicals to test the hypotheses that (i) allelopathic effects of the endophyte reduce AM fungal spore germination; and (ii) the allelochemical compound(s) are leached into the soil even after the death of S. phoenix , where they reduce AM fungal colonization of other plants. 4. In a first experiment, aqueous extracts from the shoots of S. phoenix were applied onto spores of the AM fungus Glomus intraradices to test germination effects. Both endophyte strains reduced spore germination by approximately 10% relative to endophyte-free controls. 5. In a second experiment, we placed dried shoot material (‘thatch’) on the soil surface of pots containing Bromus inermis , which were either inoculated with G. intraradices or not. We watered the plants through the thatch, relying upon leaching to translocate potential allelochemicals to the soil. AM fungal colonization of B. inermis was significantly reduced when thatch was infected with the common strain, but not with AR542, compared to the endophyte-free thatch. Furthermore, the arbuscule : vesicle ratio was 11-fold smaller when thatch was infected with the common strain compared to endophyte-free thatch, suggesting that G. intraradices was stressed by the presence of common strain-leachate. 6. We observed situations whereby two ecologically widespread plant-microbe symbioses interact. Potential mechanisms may include allelopathic effects, although other factors are also possible, and leaching is a mode of entry of putative endophyte-induced AM fungal inhibitors in soil. Understanding these processes is important as they affect AM fungal communities which contribute to plant success and, consequentially, grassland ecosystem dynamics.