Interactions among vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae, soil, and landscape position.

In a bahiagrass pasture Paspalum notatum in N Florida, a significant effect of landscape position was found in spore number, root colonization, root length, the ratio of Acaulospora and Glomus to Gigaspora spores, and number of spores per centimeter of colonized root. Root colonization and propagule numbers were least in the most erosive positions (shoulder and backslope) of the landscape. This implied that the population density of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae fungi may be reduced by soil erosion even if erosion is not severe enough to affect plant cover. -from Authors