Prevalence and intensity of mycorrhiza formation in herbaceous plants with different types of ecological strategies in the Middle Urals

The prevalence of arbuscular mycorrhizas and abundance of mycorrhizal fungi in the roots of herbaceous plants with different types of Grime-Ramenskii’s ecological strategies (competitors, ruderals, and stress tolerators) have been studied in the Middle Urals. The closest association with arbuscular fungi has been observed in species with a competitive strategy. Compared to them, stress-tolerant species are characterized by lower abundance of mycorrhizal fungal hyphae in the root system, while ruderal plants include a relatively large proportion of nonmycotrophic species showing no interaction with arbuscular fungi.