Strong differences in Quercus robur-associated ectomycorrhizal fungal communities along a forest-city soil sealing gradient

Ectomycorrhizal fungi (EM) that associate with tree roots in a symbiotic relationship may be crucial in mediating tree health in urban environments, but research on the effects of urbanization on EM communities is very limited so far. Here, we compared EM communities of adult pedunculate oaks (Quercus robur) between urban and forest environments, and assessed the effect of soil sealing around the trees on their EM community composition and EM diversity. We sampled 32 oak individuals across 4 sampling classes (Street, Lane, Park and Forest), and we characterized their EM communities using 454 amplicon pyrosequencing. The EM communities were not nested but they were significantly different between all sampling classes, with a very strong community differentiation between forest and urban trees. There were indications that EM richness declined with increasing sealed soil surface, with a significant effect of sampling class on estimated EM richness and diversity. We also identified indicator EM of the different sampling classes. The most important soil factor affecting EM community composition was pH, followed by plant available phosphorus, total nitrogen content and organic matter. Our results may have important implications when developing EM inocula for managing tree health in urban environments.