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Distribution and diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in grapevines from production vineyards along the eastern Adriatic coast

Background Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are among the most important beneficial fungal root endophytes, and are known to colonise the roots of the majority of land plants, including grapevines. Similar to other plant species with low root densities or with relatively coarse fine roots, grapevines appear to be reliant on AMF colonisation for normal growth and development, which is especially important in organic vineyards that follow low-input practices, as these support higher AMF spore abundance and diversity. Key results and discussion The comparison of the AMF communities on the roots of grapevines from East Adriatic Karst region showed that the fungal communities associated with grapevine roots seem to be relatively stable, with inter-vineyard variability comparable to intra-vineyard variability. Some of the changes in the fungal communities were attributed to environmental factors (eg. plant-available P) and geographical location of the vineyard. The majority of the AMF belonged to various representatives of genus Glomus, with some species that are less frequently observed in studies on AMF (eg. Glomus sinuosum and Glomus indicum). Screening of vineyard weeds belonging to 11 plant families and showed varying level of fungal colonization and seemed to promote different sets of dominant AMF, potentially providing a wider spectrum of AMF for colonizing grapevine roots. This indicates the value of encouraging host plant diversity in vineyards. In deed herbaceous weed Tanacetum cinerariifolium was shown to improve colonization of grapevine plants in a pot culture experiment. In the next stage of our studies, we were starting to focus on the other aspects of “terroir” (vineyard management) and its consequences on the fungal endophyte communities. AMF spore abundance greatly increased in organic vineyards, as has been seen for different agricultural systems, including vineyards. In contrast, vineyard management had no effect on the overall diversity of AMF colonizing grapevine roots. Our results confirm that the production vineyard harbor well formed AMF communities that are greatly affected by the vineyard management. Change towards more sustainable vineyard practices improves the abundance and diversity of AMF that can result in positive effects on the mineral nutrition of grapevines due to modified nutrient availability related to changes in the abiotic and biotic characteristics of the soil.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; Vineyards; Adriatic coast

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