Herbivory-driven shifts in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community assembly : increased fungal competition and plant phosphorus benefits

We explored how aboveground insect herbivory impacts the taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity and composition of rootcolonising AM fungal communities to infer the associated community assembly processes. We hypothesised that herbivory would reduce richness of AM fungi in plant roots, potentially indicating increased competition for carbon resources. By examining the phylogenetic structure of the fungal communities, we expected the herbivory-driven increase in competition for carbon would either increase phylogenetic overdispersion as a result of increased competitive exclusion or increase phylogenetic clustering if competition selects for a particular set of AM fungal traits which confer a competitive advantage.