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Mycorrhizal symbiosis is a widespread association between plant roots and
mycorrhizal fungi, which is thought to contribute to plant niche
differentiation and expansion. However, this has so far not been
explicitly tested. To address the effect of mycorrhizal symbiosis on
plants’ realized niches, we addressed how mycorrhizal status (i.e. the
frequency of occurrence of mycorrhizal symbiosis), flexibility (i.e. the
ability to grow both with and without mycorrhizal symbiosis) and type of a
plant species affect the realized niche optima, widths and volumes. For
this, we used co-occurrence data from the flora of the Netherlands along
soil fertility, moisture, pH, salinity, light and temperature gradients.
Phylogenetic dependency of the species was taken into account using
phylogenetic generalized least squares models. We show that facultatively
and flexibly mycorrhizal plants have the widest niches compared to
non-mycorrhizal and obligately mycorrhizal, and inflexible plants
respectively. Among obligate plant symbionts, ecto- and ericoid
mycorrhizal plants exhibited the widest niches compared to plants with
other mycorrhizal types. Also, plants with different mycorrhizal statuses
and types differed in their realized niche optima. Synthesis. Our results
indicate that mycorrhizal symbiosis mediates plant niche differentiation
and expansion, facilitating the understanding of current distribution
patterns of plant species, as well as predicting shifts in plant
distribution and dominance due to environmental changes.
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