Use of the Signature Fatty Acid 16:1ω5 as a Tool to Determine the Distribution of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in Soil

Figure 1

Comparison of microscopic and biochemical estimations of arbuscular mycorrhiza spores in an arable field soil cultivated with wheat or amaranth as crop; 0–5 and 5–10 cm soil depths; amendments with mineral (NPK) and organic (cattle manure + biodynamic preparations) fertilizers applied at low and high amounts; C = crop type; Kruskal-Wallis with *** for 𝑃<0.001. (a) AM spores assessed by neutral lipid fatty acid 16:1ω5 (nmol g⁻¹ DW soil ± SD), (b) Spore density counts (No. g⁻¹ DW soil ± SD).

(a)

(b)