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The community structure of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and mycorrhizal infection in the main herbaceous plants were studied along the elevational gradients on the Tibetan Plateau, and AMF community was characterized based on spore morphology. Community of AMF at lower elevations (2200-3400 m) in southeast Tibetan Plateau included 11 genera, covering 31 species, whereas AMF at intermediate elevations (3400-3900 m) in central Tibet included 11 genera, covering 20 species, and that at higher elevations (4300-5300 m) in northern Tibet included 6 genera, covering 14 species. With the increase of elevation, both spore density (r = 0.978, P <0.01) and species abundance (r = 0.462, P > 0.05) tended to increase. The proportion of dominant species and endemic species increased substantially, while the Shannon index (r = -0.945, P < 0.01) decreased significantly. There was no significant difference in Sorensen index (0.526-0.592) among different altitudes. Mycorrhizal infection at intermediate elevations was significantly higher than that at lower elevations or higher elevations, while the latter two did not differ significantly. Within an altitude range, elevation had significant influence on AMF community and mycorrhizal infection, and the effect differed among the three elevational sites. The results demonstrated that AMF community on the Tibetan Plateau tends to be habitat specific. The water and thermal environment as well as soil environment are the driving forces for shaping AMF community assemblages.

Seventy soil samples with the roots of 37 dominant or common plant species on the grasslands in south and north Tibet Plateau were collected to study the ecological distribution of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in the investigation area. A total of 35 AM fungi species belonging to 5 genera were isolated, among which, 18 species belonged to Glomus, 9 species belonged to Acaulospora, 6 species belonged to Scutellospora, 1 species belonged to Entrophospora, and 1 species belonged to Paraglomus. There were 23 AM fungi species belonging to 4 genera isolated from south Tibet, and 22 species belonging to 4 genera from north Tibet. The Shannon diversity index of AM fungi in south and north Tibet Plateau was 2.31 and 2.75, respectively, and the spore density and species richness were significantly higher in north Tibet than in south Tibet. In different ecological zones, lesser AM fungi common species were found, species distribution was more site-specific, and different dominant species were observed. In alpine grassland, mountain meadow, and alpine meadow, the Shannon index of AM fungi was 1.91, 1.83, and 1.80, respectively; while in severely degraded temperate grassland, this index was only 1.64. The highest species richness of AM fungi occurred at the altitude of 4000-4600 m, but the highest Shannon index and species evenness occurred at the altitude of 4600-5220 m, with the values being 2.42 and 0.79, respectively. At all altitudes, Glomus was the dominant genus, and its relative abundance was higher when the altitude was below 4000 m. Acaulospora was mainly observed at the altitudes higher than 4000 m, Scutellospora was mainly distributed at the altitude 3500-5220 m, Paraglomus mainly occurred in the north alpine meadow with an altitude of 4000-5220 m and occasionally in the alpine steppe, whereas Entrophospora was only found in the south temperate grassland with an altitude of 3500-3700 m.

This study was based on the isolation and identification of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi collected from the alpine Stipa steppe of north Tibet, and focused on the influence of soil texture, pH, organic matter, and available P on the spore density, isolation frequency, relative abundance, importance value, species diversity, and species evenness of the AM fungi. In the rhizosphere soil of the steppe, a total of 15 species AM fungi were isolated and identified, including 9 species of Glomus, 6 species of Acaulospora, and 1 species of Scutellospora. Among them, Glomus and Acaulospora were the dominant genera, and Glomus claroideum and Acaulospora laevis were the dominant species. In the soils with different texture, the spore density, isolation frequency, relative abundance, and importance value of the AM fungi all showed a trend of Glomus > Acaulospora > Scutellospora. Soil pH value had no significant effects on the species composition of AM fungi. However, the isolation frequency, relative abundance, and importance value of Glomus and Acaulospora showed an increasing trend with increasing soil pH, while Scutellospora showed the contrary trend. In the soils with different organic matter content, the spore density of AM fungi all showed a trend of Glomus > Acaulospora > Scutellospora, while the distribution of AM fungi had no definite pattern. The species richness and spore density of AM fungi were less affected by the soil available P content, but the species diversity and evenness showed an increasing trend with the increasing content of soil available P.

The study of degraded alpine grasslands in northern Tibet showed that compared with normal alpine grassland, slightly degraded alpine grassland had higher amounts of soil bacteria, fungi and actinomyces, higher activities of cellulase, urease and alkali phosphatase, and higher contents of microbial biomass C and N and organic matter in its 2-10 cm soil layer, while these parameters were much lower on moderately or severely degraded alpine grassland. There was a positive correlation between soil microbial biomass C/N (B(C)/B(N)) and soil total C/N (T(C)/T(N)), with coefficient value (r) being 0.9088 (P < or = 0.01, n = 4). The ratios of soil B(C)/T(C) and B(N)/T(N) had an increasing trend on slightly and moderately degraded grasslands, but decreased obviously on severely degraded alpine grassland. Soil microbial biomass had a significant positive correlation with soil enzyme activity, and these two parameters were both positively correlated with the amounts of soil bacteria and fungi, but negatively correlated with that of soil actinomyces. In 2-10 cm soil layer, microbial biomass and enzyme activities were significantly positively correlated with organic matter content, and the ratios of humus C/organic C and humic acid C/humus C in 2-10 cm and 11-20 cm soil layers increased significantly with increasing degradation of grassland.

We report for the first time the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) status of native plant species and AM fungal diversity in the grasslands of southern Tibet. A total of 51 soil samples were collected from the rhizospheres of the dominant plant species, and AM fungal structures were observed in 18 (82%) of 22 plant species examined. Vesicles and aseptate hyphae were the structures most frequently observed in the plant roots. After trap culture for 5 months, 25 AM fungal taxa were identified in the soil samples collected, of which nine belonged to Glomus, ten to Acaulospora, one to Entrophospora and five to Scutellospora. The frequency of occurrence of different genera and species varied greatly. Glomus was the dominant genus, and the most frequent and abundant species was Glomus mosseae. Over the whole sampling area, spore density in the rhizosphere soil of different host plant species ranged from 2 to 66 per 20 g air-dried soil. Overall AM fungal species richness was 2.10 and species diversity was 2.35. AM fungal diversity was also compared among the four different land use types (farmland and normal, disturbed and highly disturbed montane scrub grassland). Spore densities in the farmland and normal grassland were much higher than in the grasslands that had been degraded to varying degrees. The species richness in normal grassland was the highest of the four land use types examined. Species diversity varied from 1.99 to 0.94 and was highest in normal grassland, intermediate in degraded grassland and farmland, and lowest in the highly disturbed grassland.

The arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) status of nine dominant sedge species and the diversity of AM fungi in Tibetan grassland were surveyed in the autumn of 2003 and 2004. Most of the sedge species and ecotypes examined were mycorrhizal, but Carex moorcroftii and Kobresia pusilla were of doubtful AM status, and Kobresia humilis was facultatively mycorrhizal. This is the first report of the mycorrhizal status of eight of the nine sedge species examined. Intraradical vesicles and aseptate hyphae were the structures most frequently observed. Appressoria, coils, and arbuscules were found in the roots of a few sedge species. A strong negative correlation was found between soil organic matter content and the extent of mycorrhizal colonization. Using trap cultures, 26 species of AM fungi belonging to six genera, Glomus, Acaulospora, Paraglomus, Archaeospora, Pacispora, and Scutellospora, were isolated from the soil samples collected. The frequency of occurrence of different taxa of AM fungi varied greatly. Glomus and Acaulospora were the dominant genera, and Acaulospora scrobiculata was the most frequent and abundant species. The species richness of AM fungi was 2.73 in the study area. Species richness and diversity index differed among the sedge species but were not correlated with soil factors such as pH, available P, or organic matter content.