Ecological corridors for the unseen majority of biodiversity: combining landscape and microbial ecology for agroecology
Séminaire du vendredi 8 avril 2022 à 13h (salle de conférences de l'OSUR) Abstract : Ecological corridors or connections have been shown to promote species coexistence in fragmented habitats where dispersal limits species fluxes. Here, we used two model systems to test the effect of connections on plant root endospheric mycobiota and their potentially associated functions: 1\. Using an experimental corridor-mesocosm design, we demonstrate that the plant symbiotic compartment is sensitive to corridor effects when the corridors are set up at a small spatial scale. The endospheric mycobiota of connected plants displayed higher species richness, lower beta-diversity, and a more deterministic assembly than the mycobiota of isolated plants. 2\. Combining field studies and lab experiments, we analysed how the crop plant associated-mycobiota can be influenced by neighborhood weeds, and how weed plants affect wheat performance via transmitting their associated root endospheric mycobiota. Biotic corridors or connections comprised of host plants could thus be a key to a better understanding of species assembly and to preserving microbial biodiversity and related ecological functions.
