Characterising the rhizospheric soil niches of beach plum (Prunus maritima) colonised by arbuscularmycorrhizal fungi and/or phosphate-solubilising fungi when grown under NaCl stress

SummaryThe objective of this work was to study the effects of inoculation with an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF), Glomus mosseae, and/or a phosphate-solubilising fungus (PSF), Mortierella sp. SM-1, on the rhizospheric niche of beach plum (Prunus maritima) when grown under 1% (w/v) NaCl stress. Salinisation adversely affected colonisation by AMF, microorganism populations, available-P, and hydrolysable-N concentrations in the soil, as well as phosphatase, urease, and proteinase activities in the rhizospheric niche of beach plum, resulting in a significant reduction (P 0.05) in the dry weight (DW) of the plants. Plants inoculated with AMF and/or PSF avoided these adverse changes. Combined inoculation with AMF and PSF promoted AMF colonisation, increased plant DWs, and significantly increased bacterial and actinomycete numbers on the root surface and in roots, and nitrogen-fixing bacterial numbers on the root surface of beach plum plants. Dual inoculation with AMF plus PSF also resulted in significantly...