Road Disturbance Shifts Root Fungal Symbiont Types and Reduces the Connectivity of Plant-Fungal Co-Occurrence Networks in Mountains

Publikation: Beiträge in ZeitschriftenZeitschriftenaufsätzeForschungbegutachtet

Standard

Road Disturbance Shifts Root Fungal Symbiont Types and Reduces the Connectivity of Plant-Fungal Co-Occurrence Networks in Mountains. / Radujković, Dajana; Verbruggen, Erik; Clavel, Jan et al.
in: Molecular Ecology, 2025.

Publikation: Beiträge in ZeitschriftenZeitschriftenaufsätzeForschungbegutachtet

Harvard

Radujković, D, Verbruggen, E, Clavel, J, Pauchard, A, Fuentes-Lillo, E, Barros, A, Aschero, V, Haider, S, Ratier Backes, A, Pergl, J, Vítková, M, Lučanová, A, Nuñez, MA, Lenoir, J, Nijs, I & Lembrechts, JJ 2025, 'Road Disturbance Shifts Root Fungal Symbiont Types and Reduces the Connectivity of Plant-Fungal Co-Occurrence Networks in Mountains', Molecular Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17771

APA

Radujković, D., Verbruggen, E., Clavel, J., Pauchard, A., Fuentes-Lillo, E., Barros, A., Aschero, V., Haider, S., Ratier Backes, A., Pergl, J., Vítková, M., Lučanová, A., Nuñez, M. A., Lenoir, J., Nijs, I., & Lembrechts, J. J. (im Druck). Road Disturbance Shifts Root Fungal Symbiont Types and Reduces the Connectivity of Plant-Fungal Co-Occurrence Networks in Mountains. Molecular Ecology, Artikel e17771. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17771

Vancouver

Radujković D, Verbruggen E, Clavel J, Pauchard A, Fuentes-Lillo E, Barros A et al. Road Disturbance Shifts Root Fungal Symbiont Types and Reduces the Connectivity of Plant-Fungal Co-Occurrence Networks in Mountains. Molecular Ecology. 2025;e17771. doi: 10.1111/mec.17771

Bibtex

@article{42ba8ae01da54518855058174a9256a4,
title = "Road Disturbance Shifts Root Fungal Symbiont Types and Reduces the Connectivity of Plant-Fungal Co-Occurrence Networks in Mountains",
abstract = "Roads are currently one of the most disruptive anthropogenic disturbances to mountain ecosystems worldwide. These disturbances can have a profound effect on roadside soil properties and vegetation, typically favouring fast-growing and ruderal species. However, their effect on plant-associated fungal communities and plant-fungal interactions remains largely unknown. In this study, we examined the changes in root-associated fungal communities as well as plant-fungal and fungal-fungal co-occurrence networks along mountain roads from four biogeographical regions. We found that roadsides consistently altered plant and fungal community composition, generally favouring arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and putative plant pathogens at the expense of ectomycorrhizal fungi. Moreover, roadsides consistently reduced the complexity of plant-fungal and fungal-fungal co-occurrence networks (with 66%–95% and 40%–94% reduction in total edge density, respectively), even though the richness of fungal communities was not reduced and many of the naturally occurring highly connected taxa were still present. Our findings suggest that altered and transient conditions in the roadsides may favour more generalist symbionts like AMF and pathogens with low fidelity for particular hosts as opposed to surrounding natural vegetation which is dominated by symbionts with higher specificity for the host (like ectomycorrhizal fungi). We conclude that road disturbance may have a consistent negative imprint on connectivity between plants and fungi; a consequence that deserves attention as it could render mountain roadside systems unstable and vulnerable to further pressures such as climate change and invasive species.",
keywords = "co-occurrence networks, disturbance, fungi, mountains, plants, roads, roots, Ecosystems Research, Biology",
author = "Dajana Radujkovi{\'c} and Erik Verbruggen and Jan Clavel and An{\'i}bal Pauchard and Eduardo Fuentes-Lillo and Agustina Barros and Valeria Aschero and Sylvia Haider and {Ratier Backes}, Amanda and Jan Pergl and Michaela V{\'i}tkov{\'a} and Anna Lu{\v c}anov{\'a} and Nu{\~n}ez, {Martin A.} and Jonathan Lenoir and Ivan Nijs and Lembrechts, {Jonas J.}",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.",
year = "2025",
doi = "10.1111/mec.17771",
language = "English",
journal = "Molecular Ecology",
issn = "0962-1083",
publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Road Disturbance Shifts Root Fungal Symbiont Types and Reduces the Connectivity of Plant-Fungal Co-Occurrence Networks in Mountains

AU - Radujković, Dajana

AU - Verbruggen, Erik

AU - Clavel, Jan

AU - Pauchard, Aníbal

AU - Fuentes-Lillo, Eduardo

AU - Barros, Agustina

AU - Aschero, Valeria

AU - Haider, Sylvia

AU - Ratier Backes, Amanda

AU - Pergl, Jan

AU - Vítková, Michaela

AU - Lučanová, Anna

AU - Nuñez, Martin A.

AU - Lenoir, Jonathan

AU - Nijs, Ivan

AU - Lembrechts, Jonas J.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2025 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

PY - 2025

Y1 - 2025

N2 - Roads are currently one of the most disruptive anthropogenic disturbances to mountain ecosystems worldwide. These disturbances can have a profound effect on roadside soil properties and vegetation, typically favouring fast-growing and ruderal species. However, their effect on plant-associated fungal communities and plant-fungal interactions remains largely unknown. In this study, we examined the changes in root-associated fungal communities as well as plant-fungal and fungal-fungal co-occurrence networks along mountain roads from four biogeographical regions. We found that roadsides consistently altered plant and fungal community composition, generally favouring arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and putative plant pathogens at the expense of ectomycorrhizal fungi. Moreover, roadsides consistently reduced the complexity of plant-fungal and fungal-fungal co-occurrence networks (with 66%–95% and 40%–94% reduction in total edge density, respectively), even though the richness of fungal communities was not reduced and many of the naturally occurring highly connected taxa were still present. Our findings suggest that altered and transient conditions in the roadsides may favour more generalist symbionts like AMF and pathogens with low fidelity for particular hosts as opposed to surrounding natural vegetation which is dominated by symbionts with higher specificity for the host (like ectomycorrhizal fungi). We conclude that road disturbance may have a consistent negative imprint on connectivity between plants and fungi; a consequence that deserves attention as it could render mountain roadside systems unstable and vulnerable to further pressures such as climate change and invasive species.

AB - Roads are currently one of the most disruptive anthropogenic disturbances to mountain ecosystems worldwide. These disturbances can have a profound effect on roadside soil properties and vegetation, typically favouring fast-growing and ruderal species. However, their effect on plant-associated fungal communities and plant-fungal interactions remains largely unknown. In this study, we examined the changes in root-associated fungal communities as well as plant-fungal and fungal-fungal co-occurrence networks along mountain roads from four biogeographical regions. We found that roadsides consistently altered plant and fungal community composition, generally favouring arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and putative plant pathogens at the expense of ectomycorrhizal fungi. Moreover, roadsides consistently reduced the complexity of plant-fungal and fungal-fungal co-occurrence networks (with 66%–95% and 40%–94% reduction in total edge density, respectively), even though the richness of fungal communities was not reduced and many of the naturally occurring highly connected taxa were still present. Our findings suggest that altered and transient conditions in the roadsides may favour more generalist symbionts like AMF and pathogens with low fidelity for particular hosts as opposed to surrounding natural vegetation which is dominated by symbionts with higher specificity for the host (like ectomycorrhizal fungi). We conclude that road disturbance may have a consistent negative imprint on connectivity between plants and fungi; a consequence that deserves attention as it could render mountain roadside systems unstable and vulnerable to further pressures such as climate change and invasive species.

KW - co-occurrence networks

KW - disturbance

KW - fungi

KW - mountains

KW - plants

KW - roads

KW - roots

KW - Ecosystems Research

KW - Biology

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105003826230&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/mec.17771

DO - 10.1111/mec.17771

M3 - Journal articles

C2 - 40277330

AN - SCOPUS:105003826230

JO - Molecular Ecology

JF - Molecular Ecology

SN - 0962-1083

M1 - e17771

ER -

DOI