尖峰岭热带天然林不同土层细菌群落多样性和组成的海拔变异规律

土壤微生物群落结构沿海拔梯度的变异是微生物生物地理学分异和群落空间分布的重要内容,然而,热带森林土壤微生物多样性及其群落特征的海拔模式尚不明确。研究海南省尖峰岭自然保护区0—20cm和20—40cm土壤细菌多样性和群落组成沿海拔梯度(400—1410m)的变化及其与环境因子的关系。结果表明：在0—20cm土壤微生物生物量碳、生物量氮和生物量磷随海拔升高(峰顶降低)而增加,20—40cm土壤微生物生物量碳、生物量氮和生物量磷随海拔升高呈先升高后降低趋势;整体上,变形菌门、放线菌门、酸杆菌门、拟杆菌门、厚壁菌门在0—20cm中占优势,丰度总和占该层细菌总量的88.17%;变形菌门、放线菌门、酸杆菌门、厚壁菌门、绿弯菌门在20—40cm中占优势,丰度总和占该层细菌总量的90.82%;随海拔增加,0—20cm细菌多样性线性减少,20—40cm细菌多样性变化不显著;沿海拔梯度,0—20cm细菌群落组成可分为低(409—1018m),中(1018—1357m)和高(1410m)三个海拔聚集群落,20—40cm细菌群落组成随海拔无显著性变化;两土层细菌多样性与土壤pH显著正相关,土壤细菌群落组成在0...     

洮河上游不同海拔紫果云杉根际与非根际土壤细菌多样性及影响因子

【背景】紫果云杉天然林在维护洮河上游生态环境安全方面发挥着重要作用,不同海拔梯度如何影响紫果云杉根际与非根际细菌多样性、土壤养分因子及三者之间的相关性尚不清楚。【目的】深入探索紫果云杉根际与非根际土壤细菌群落结构组成及受控因子。【方法】采用Illumina Miseq平台对洮河上游不同海拔紫果云杉天然林根际与非根际土壤细菌进行测序分析,分析土壤理化因子与细菌多样性随海拔的变化趋势,并通过相关性与冗余分析探究环境因子对细菌群落的影响。【结果】土壤养分因子随海拔升高呈先增加后降低趋势;根际土养分因子组间差异显著(P<0.05),非根际组间差异不显著(P>0.05)。随海拔升高根际微生物物种多样性指数(H)、均匀度指数(E)、丰富度指数(Chao1/ACE)和OTU数目呈单峰型变化趋势;非根际多样性指数随海拔升高呈双峰型变化趋势。土壤细菌多样性与养分因子密切相关,其中有机质、全氮和碱解氮呈显著正相关(P<0.05),而土壤pH和有效磷与细菌多样性呈负相关但不显著(P>0.05)。不同海拔梯度下紫果云杉天然林细菌群落结构一致性较高,从30个样本中获得7 159个细菌OTU,注释到37个门;细菌优势类群为放线菌门、变形菌门、酸杆菌门和绿弯菌门。不同细菌门对土壤养分因子的响应各不相同,有机质、全氮和碱解氮与变形菌门呈显著正相关(P<0.05)。【结论】土壤理化因子能够显著影响紫果云杉根际与非根际细菌多样性和组成,海拔和水热条件等环境因子对植物和土壤的驱动影响是细菌群落结构稳定组成的重要原因。本研究有助于深入理解紫果云杉天然林土壤细菌多样性的变化和驱动机制,为洮河上游天然林恢复与生态恢复提供借鉴。     

Shifts in chemical and microbiological properties belowground of invader Ageratina adenophora along an altitudinal gradient

入侵植物紫茎泽兰根围土壤化学及微生物属性海拔变化格局 热带地区山地生态系统是外来植物入侵的重要区域,是研究外来植物扩散机制的“天然实验室”。本研究试图探明入侵植物紫茎泽兰(Ageratina adenophora)根围土壤化学(pH及土壤养分)和微生物(酶活性和细菌群落)特性沿海拔梯度的变化规律。本研究以哀牢山(1400–2400 m)不同海拔梯度分布的紫茎泽兰为研究对象,采集根围土,测定土壤有机碳及养分含量,以及植物根系碳和氮含量。分析与土壤有机碳、氮及磷循环的酶活性,通过计算土壤酶化学计量参数,探究微生物生长代谢利用碳、氮及磷的规律。借助高通量测序技术对16S rDNA的V4区测序,分析细菌群落结构。研究结果显示,海拔显著影响紫茎泽兰根系氮及及其根围土壤有机碳含量,且这些测量指标在海拔2000 m  出现拐点。处在低海拔,入侵植物快速生长耗竭土壤中相对缺乏的磷,磷素是限制微生物生长的重要养分元素;而在高海拔,微生物需要投入更多的能量降解有机质获取碳,导致微生物生长的碳限制。细菌群落β多样性及pH  是决定不同海拔酶化学计量参数差异的重要因子;变形菌门和酸杆菌门是决定微生物养分利用状况的主要细菌门类。这些结果阐明了不同海拔梯度上紫茎泽兰根围土壤微生物的养分利用规律,有助于认识入侵植物沿海拔扩散机制。     

秦岭火地塘真菌群落海拔分布格局

土壤真菌在自然生态系统的养分循环和土壤碳储存方面起重要作用。秦岭火地塘林区在不同海拔分布着不同的优势树种,但其相应的土壤特征及微生物群落的海拔分布格局仍不明晰。本研究分析了5个海拔处(1500、1700、1900、2100和2300 m)的土壤特征变化趋势,并在高通量测序基础上研究了真菌群落格局。结果表明: 土壤有效磷含量、pH值随海拔的增加而显著增加,土壤水分则呈下降趋势。土壤真菌Shannon多样性指数随海拔升高呈下降趋势,而ACE丰度指数相反;真菌优势门为担子菌门(68.2%)、子囊菌门(19.8%)和球囊菌门(1.7%),且随海拔升高整体呈现出“U”型或“单峰”变化格局;真菌优势纲为伞菌纲(64.2%)、粪壳菌纲(5.8%)和锤舌菌纲(4.1%)。冗余分析(RDA)表明,土壤特性解释了土壤真菌群落总变异的89.1%,其中土壤有效磷含量、pH和海拔是土壤真菌群落海拔梯度变化的主要驱动因子。在秦岭火地塘林区,土壤特征在海拔梯度上的差异性影响了土壤真菌群落组成。     

藏东南森林土壤微生物群落结构与土壤酶活性随海拔梯度的变化

【目的】针对青藏高原藏东南地区色季拉山不同海拔森林土壤,探讨微生物群落与土壤酶活性之间的联系以及受控因子。【方法】利用微生物细胞膜磷脂(PLFA)方法研究土壤微生物群落结构随海拔变化情况,分析土壤葡萄糖苷酶、酚氧化酶、蛋白酶、L-天冬酰胺酶、脲酶和酸性磷酸酶活性以及土壤理化性质随海拔的变化趋势。【结果】土壤理化性质和生化指标随海拔增高没有显著变化,如水分含量、有机碳、全氮、碳氮比、pH、无机氮和硝态氮,土壤葡萄糖苷酶、酚氧化酶、蛋白酶、L-天冬酰胺酶和酸性磷酸酶活性等;然而,微生物丰度呈现中峰优势分布规律,细菌、真菌、革兰氏阳性菌、革兰氏阴性菌和放线菌含量在海拔3 900 m和4 000 m处生物量显著高于低海拔和更高海拔。皮尔森相关性分析表明土壤pH是影响微生物群落结构的主要因子,但海拔梯度上的温度变化与微生物群落结构和酶活性不存在显著相关性;同时,有机碳、全氮、水溶性有机碳和水溶性有机氮和pH等理化指标与土壤酶活性显著相关。【结论】在藏东南色季拉山森林生态系统,海拔梯度对土壤微生物群落结构影响较大,土壤理化指标与生物特征对海拔梯度的响应较弱。     

五台山亚高山土壤真菌海拔分布格局与构建机制

生物多样性的海拔分布格局与维持机制是生物多样性与生态系统功能研究的热点领域。尽管微生物驱动着地球上许多重要的生物地球化学循环,但与大型生物体相比,对微生物多样性海拔梯度分布格局知之甚少。运用Illumina Miseq高通量测序技术,全面分析了五台山亚高山生态系统（海拔2000-3058 m范围内）土壤真菌群落组成和多样性变化特征。结果表明,子囊菌门（Ascomycota）、担子菌门（Basidiomycota）、接合菌门（Zygomycota）、壶菌门（Chytridimycota）为主要的优势菌门。非度量多维尺度分析（NMDS）和相似性分析（ANOSIM）表明真菌群落组成和结构在海拔梯度上存在显著的差异（P<0.05）。典范对应分析（CCA）显示pH、植物丰富度、总碳含量与土壤真菌群落结构存在显著相关性（P<0.05）。局域海拔尺度上,土壤真菌多样性与植物多样性（α和β多样性）呈显著正相关关系（P<0.05）。方差分解分析（VPA）和偏Mantel分析表明土壤真菌群落构建过程中,环境因子和空间变量都起作用,并且环境因子占绝对的优势。土壤真菌群落之间的Bray-Curtis距离与海拔距离呈显著正相关关系（P<0.05）,说明环境选择是亚高山土壤真菌海拔分布格局的决定因素。总之,五台山亚高山沿海拔梯度土壤真菌群落结构和多样性产生明显的变化,群落构建主要由确定性过程和随机过程驱动,但确定性过程占主导地位。土壤pH、植物丰富度、总碳含量是影响土壤真菌群落结构的重要因素。     

贺兰山东坡不同海拔土壤微生物群落特征及其影响因素

土壤微生物作为连接地上植物群落和地下生物过程的重要桥梁,在调控地下生态学过程中扮演着重要角色。然而,我们对旱区山地生态系统沿海拔梯度上的土壤微生物群落变化特征及其驱动因素尚不清楚。本研究以贺兰山1300～2800 m范围内7个海拔的土壤为研究对象,揭示贺兰山林下植物群落组成、土壤理化性质、土壤微生物群落海拔分布格局,采用方差分解和冗余分析探明影响土壤微生物群落的驱动因素。结果表明：随着海拔上升,土壤微生物总量和细菌生物量呈先增加后降低的变化趋势,真菌、放线菌、丛枝菌根真菌、革兰氏阳性菌和革兰氏阴性菌生物量呈现逐渐增加的变化趋势。真菌细菌比(F/B)显示,低海拔土壤细菌的积累能力强于真菌,而在高海拔则相反。革兰氏阳性菌与阴性菌比例(GP/GN)随海拔上升呈逐渐减小的趋势,表明随海拔上升土壤细菌和有机碳可利用度分别发生由“寡”到“富”和由“低”到“高”转变。植被属性、土壤物理和化学属性共同解释土壤微生物群落变异的95.7%。土壤有机碳(SOC)、土壤含水率(SWC)和全氮(TN)显著影响土壤微生物群落组成。本研究揭示了贺兰山东坡土壤微生物群落沿海拔梯度的分布模式及其驱动因素,可为深化认识旱...     

冻融对色季拉山高寒森林土壤微生物群落结构的影响

高寒森林土壤是最脆弱的陆地碳库之一,随着全球气候的变暖,冻融格局受到影响,这将导致土壤微生物群落结构发生变化进而影响土壤微生态过程。以西藏色季拉山不同海拔土壤为研究对象,基于16S rRNA测序技术探究微生物群落结构及多样性对季节性冻融的响应。结果表明:门水平上,冻融现象并未改变土壤细菌和真菌群落的优势菌群,变形菌门(Proteobacteria)、放线菌门(Actinobacteriota)和酸杆菌门(Acidobacteria)为细菌群落的优势菌门,担子菌门(Basidiomycota)和子囊菌门(Ascomycota)为真菌群落的优势菌门;属水平上,冻融前后微生物群落结构和组成差异较大,且细菌群落受冻融影响更剧烈,真菌群落受海拔影响更剧烈;OTU水平上,冻融使各海拔细菌群落和海拔3500 m、4300 m处真菌群落的α-多样性有较大提升,主要受黏粒和粉粒含量的影响;冻融使微生物群落组成在不同海拔间差异增大,且冻融前后的关键驱动因子不同,冻融前主要受碳氮比、速效钾、碳酸盐、土壤含水率、黏粒和粉粒含量的影响,冻融后主要受pH和有效磷的影响;相比于细菌,真菌群落结构的影响因素在海拔间的差异更大。本研究为深入理解气候暖化背景下不同海拔高寒森林土壤微生物对冻融的响应提供重要依据。     

珠穆朗玛峰不同海拔梯度上土壤细菌和真菌群落变化特征

高寒生态系统是全球变化的敏感区域,揭示高海拔地区尤其是雪线以上土壤微生物群落的演变规律,对于理解全球气候变化对高寒生态系统的影响及其响应机制具有重要意义。以采自青藏高原珠穆朗玛峰北坡低海拔地区和永久雪线以上(海拔4000—6550m)的12份土壤和砂砾样品为研究对象,运用活菌计数法(CFU)和实时定量PCR(real-time PCR)技术对土壤样品的细菌和真菌进行了定量分析,并结合磷脂脂肪酸(PLFA)分析法、变性梯度凝胶电泳技术(DGGE)和克隆测序方法研究了细菌和真菌群落随海拔梯度变化的演变特征,结果表明:土壤细菌和真菌丰度随海拔增加而降低,与海拔高度呈显著负相关;磷脂脂肪酸分析结果表明不论是细菌、真菌还是总的微生物PLFA含量均随海拔高度增加而下降,革兰氏阴性细菌和革兰氏阳性细菌的多样性也随海拔增加而降低,且代表革兰氏阳性细菌的PLFA组份在雪线(5350m)以上检测不到,而代表革兰氏阴性细菌和真菌的组份在所有海拔梯度上都有分布,表明革兰氏阳性细菌比阴性细菌和真菌对海拔及海拔相关因子变化更为敏感。DGGE图谱的UPGMA聚类分析的结果也发现在不同海拔高度样品中细菌群落组成发生明显变化,但真菌群落变化不明显。测序分析结果显示变形菌纲(Proteobacteria)是珠峰不同海拔高度土壤/砂砾样品中的优势菌群,芽单胞菌(Gemmatimonadetes)是高海拔样品中的优势菌群,而放线菌(Actinobacteria)主要分布在低海拔样品中;真菌以子囊菌门(Ascomycota)为主,而丝足虫类(Cercozoa)原生生物是高海拔冰雪覆盖样品所特有的真核生物。     

戴云山黄山松林土壤碳组分的海拔变化特征及影响因素

海拔梯度可能通过多种环境因子影响土壤有机质,土壤有机碳库是土壤有机质的重要组成部分,其微小变化将会产生极其重要的影响。因此海拔差异可能导致海拔间土壤碳库差异。土壤有机碳是反映土壤肥力的重要指标,可能受土壤理化性质和微生物等多种因素的影响。黄山松是高山地绿化和用材的优良树种,近年来戴云山自然保护区内高海拔地区的黄山松群落呈现衰退趋势。研究戴云山黄山松林土壤有机碳组分沿海拔梯度的变化情况,不仅可以为该区域碳库估算提供科学依据,而且有助于揭示影响黄山松生长变化的机理。因此,选取戴云山不同海拔[1300 m (L)、1450 m (M)和1600 m (H)]梯度的黄山松林,对其土壤基本理化性质、有机碳组分及微生物特征进行测定和分析。研究发现,海拔梯度下土壤养分含量呈先升高后降低的变化趋势,土壤碳组分含量与其变化一致,且微生物生物量碳和微生物生物量氮均在M海拔处最高,海拔梯度对碳水解酶没有显著影响。冗余分析表明,总氮是影响土壤有机碳变化的最主要因素,其次是碳氮比。因此在海拔跨度不大的情况下,土壤有机碳动态可能主要受氮素而非温度的影响。高海拔地区土壤惰性碳占比高,未来可能会持续加剧该地区黄山松的...     

Soil pH determines fungal diversity along an elevation gradient in Southwestern China

Fungi play important roles in ecosystem processes, and the elevational pattern of fungal diversity is still unclear. Here, we examined the diversity of fungi along a 1,000 m elevation gradient on Mount Nadu, Southwestern China. We used MiSeq sequencing to obtain fungal sequences that were clustered into operational taxonomic units(OTUs) and to measure the fungal composition and diversity. Though the species richness and phylogenetic diversity of the fungal community did not exhibit significant trends with increasing altitude, they were significantly lower at mid-altitudinal sites than at the base. The Bray-Curtis distance clustering also showed that the fungal communities varied significantly with altitude. A distance-based linear model multivariate analysis(DistLM) identified that soil pH dominated the explanatory power of the species richness(23.72%),phylogenetic diversity(24.25%) and beta diversity(28.10%) of the fungal community. Moreover, the species richness and phylogenetic diversity of the fungal community increased linearly with increasing soil pH(P0.05). Our study provides evidence that pH is an important predictor of soil fungal diversity along elevation gradients in Southwestern China.     

大兴安岭森林火烧后不同演替阶段土壤细菌多样性动态

【目的】研究我国最大的林区之一——大兴安岭森林火烧后不同演替阶段土壤细菌多样性动态,为天然林保护工程对于生物多样性的影响增添新的认识。【方法】以空间替代时间的方法分析大兴安岭森林演替对于土壤细菌多样性动态的影响。大兴安岭森林火烧后典型的自然演替序列为火烧迹地(LG-BA)、灌丛(SHR)、白桦林(BP)、白桦落叶松混交林(BP-LG)、落叶松林(LG-OM)。在演替序列的每个典型样地上采集0-10 cm土样,采用Illumina Mi Seq高通量测序技术测定土壤细菌群落组成及其多样性。【结果】细菌操作分类单位(OTU)数量从少到多的顺序为火烧迹地落叶松白桦混交林灌丛落叶松林白桦林。随着森林演替,多样性指数Simpson先增高后降低;Shannon指数先增加后减少再增加;OTU的丰度变化比较平缓,表明物种变化较小。在各演替阶段中,土壤细菌种类主要有变形菌门(Proteobacteria)、酸杆菌门(Acidobacteria)、放线菌门(Actinobacteria)和浮霉菌门(Planctomycetes),4个门的种类含量随演替顺序都呈现先增加后减少的趋势。主成分分析表明不同演替阶段土壤细菌群落存在一定的差异性。冗余分析表明有机质(SOM)、全氮(TN)、全磷(TP)和p H对于土壤细菌群落变化有影响。【结论】随着森林演替,大兴安岭地区土壤细菌种类和生物多样性会发生变化,其变化与土壤化学成分和p H有关。     

Contrasting elevational diversity patterns for soil bacteria between two ecosystems divided by the treeline

Above- and below-ground organisms are closely linked, but how elevational distribution pattern of soil microbes shifting across the treeline still remains unknown. Sampling of 140 plots with transect, we herein investigated soil bacterial distribution pattern from a temperate forest up to a subalpine meadow along an elevational gradient using Illumina sequencing. Our results revealed distinct elevational patterns of bacterial diversity above and below the treeline in responding to changes in soil conditions: a hollow elevational pattern in the forest (correlated with soil temperature, pH, and C:N ratio) and a significantly decreasing pattern in the meadow (correlated with soil pH, and available phosphorus). The bacterial community structure was also distinct between the forest and meadow, relating to soil pH in the forest and soil temperature in the meadow. Soil bacteria did not follow the distribution pattern of herb diversity, but bacterial community structure could be predicted by herb community composition. These results suggest that plant communities have an important influence on soil characteristics, and thus change the elevational distribution of soil bacteria. Our findings are useful for future assessments of climate change impacts on microbial community.     

西藏色季拉山垂直植被带土壤细菌群落组成及功能潜势

研究青藏高原土壤微生物群落组成和功能的空间分布特征有助于深入理解典型高寒生态系统中土壤微生物的重要生态功能.本研究采用16S rDNA高通量测序方法,分析了西藏色季拉山4个不同海拔土壤细菌群落物种组成和功能潜势的变化特征及其驱动因子.结果 表明:随着海拔的升高,土壤细菌的丰富度和Shannon多样性指数显著降低;酸杆菌...     

Soil bacterial diversity patterns and drivers along an elevational gradient on Shennongjia Mountain,China

Understanding biological diversity elevational pattern and the driver factors are indispensable to develop the ecological theories. Elevational gradient may minimize the impact of environmental factors and is the ideal places to study soil microbial elevational patterns. In this study, we selected four typical vegetation types from 1000 to 2800 m above the sea level on the northern slope of Shennongjia Mountain in central China, and analysed the soil bacterial community composition, elevational patterns and the relationship between soil bacterial diversity and environmental factors by using the 16S rRNA Illumina sequencing and multivariate statistical analysis. The results revealed that the dominant bacterial phyla were Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria and Verrucomicrobia, which accounted for over 75% of the bacterial sequences obtained from tested samples, and the soil bacterial operational taxonomic unit (OTU) richness was a significant monotonous decreasing (P < 0.01) trend with the elevational increasing. The similarity of soil bacterial population composition decreased significantly (P < 0.01) with elevational distance increased as measured by the Jaccard and Bray–Curtis index. Canonical correspondence analysis and Mantel test analysis indicated that plant diversity and soil pH were significantly correlated (P < 0.01) with the soil bacterial community. Therefore, the soil bacterial diversity on Shennongjia Mountain had a significant and different elevational pattern, and plant diversity and soil pH may be the key factors in shaping the soil bacterial spatial pattern.     

Contrasting patterns and drivers of soil bacterial and fungal diversity across a mountain gradient

Microbial elevational diversity patterns have been extensively studied, but their shaping mechanisms remain to be explored. Here, we examined soil bacterial and fungal diversity and community compositions across a 3.4 km elevational gradient (consists of five elevations) on Mt. Kilimanjaro located in East Africa. Bacteria and fungi had different diversity patterns across this extensive mountain gradient—bacterial diversity had a U shaped pattern while fungal diversity monotonically decreased. Random forest analysis revealed that pH (12.61% importance) was the most important factor affecting bacterial diversity, whereas mean annual temperature (9.84% importance) had the largest impact on fungal diversity, which was consistent with results obtained from mixed-effects model. Meanwhile, the diversity patterns and drivers of those diversity patterns differ among taxonomic groups (phyla/classes) within bacterial or fungal communities. Taken together, our study demonstrated that bacterial and fungal diversity and community composition responded differently to climate and edaphic properties along an extensive mountain gradient, and suggests that the elevational diversity patterns across microbial groups are determined by distinct environmental variables. These findings enhanced our understanding of the formation and maintenance of microbial diversity along elevation, as well as microbial responses to climate change in montane ecosystems.     

Bacterial community structure associated with the rhizosphere soils and roots of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Stellera chamaejasme</Emphasis> L. along a Tibetan elevation gradient

The effect of altitude on the composition and diversity of microbial communities have attracted highly attention recently but is still poorly understood. We used 16S rRNA gene clone library analyses to characterize the bacterial communities from the rhizosphere and roots of Stellera chamaejasme in the Tibetan Plateau. Our results revealed that Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria were dominant bacteria in this medicinal plant in the rhizosphere and root communities. The Shannon diversity index showed that the bacterial diversity of rhizosphere follows a small saddle pattern, while the roots possesses of a hump-backed trend. Significant differences in the composition of bacterial communities between rhizosphere and roots were detected based on multiple comparisons analysis. The community of Actinobacteria was found to be significantly negative correlated with soil available P (p?<?0.01), while the phylum of Proteobacteria showed a positive relationship with available P (p?<?0.05). Moreover, redundancy analysis indicated that soil phosphorus, pH, latitude, elevation and potassium positively correlated with bacterial communities associated with rhizosphere soils. Taken together, we provide evidence that bacterial communities associated with S. chamaejasme exhibited some certain elevational pattern, and bacterial communities of rhizosphere soil were regulated by environmental characteristics along elevational gradients in this alpine ecosystem.     

Molecular diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with two co-occurring perennial plant species on a Tibetan altitudinal gradient

Plant communities on Mount Segrila on the Tibetan Plateau show distinct changes at different altitudes, but little information is available on belowground communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Root samples of two co-occurring species, Pennisetum centrasiaticum and Kobresia sp., growing in open grasslands at eight altitudes (3,446–4,556 m) were analyzed for diversity of AMF by PCR, cloning, and sequencing. Dominant plants were well colonized by AMF even at higher altitudes where spore density in rhizospheres decreased dramatically. A total of 29 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of AMF were detected, and some novel sequence types were found. Acaulosporaceae and Glomeraceae were the dominant families. There was no significant difference in OTU richness along elevational gradients in Kobresia sp., but OTU richness in P. centrasiaticum was higher at intermediate elevations. Elevation, host plant species, and soil variables (pH, soil organic matter, and available P and N) were found to have significant effects on the overall AMF community across all elevations. Fungal community composition differed significantly between the two plant species at each elevation, and the similarity was generally higher at the intermediate elevations. No significant difference in compositional similarity was observed for Kobresia sp. with increasing elevation, but the dissimilarity increased significantly for P. centrasiaticum. These results suggest that host identity is an important determinant for the structure of the AMF communities along the elevational gradients in high altitude environments.