Biotic homogenization, lower soil fungal diversity and fewer rare taxa in arable soils across Europe

Summary

This observational study examined soil fungal biogeography across 217 European sites spanning 3000 km to characterise how arable farming affects fungal communities compared with grasslands. Using high-resolution DNA sequencing, the authors found that arable cultivation consistently reduced fungal diversity and caused biotic homogenisation, whereby prevalent fungal groups expanded whilst rare taxa were depleted or lost entirely. The findings suggest that rare soil fungi are disproportionally vulnerable to arable farming practices and highlight the need for sustainable management to protect these taxa and their associated ecosystem services.

UK applicability

These findings have direct relevance to United Kingdom arable farming, which dominates large areas of southern and eastern England. The results suggest that UK arable systems, particularly those under conventional management, may similarly suffer reduced fungal diversity and loss of rare taxa, with potential implications for soil function and resilience to climate variability.

Key measures

Soil fungal diversity indices; fungal community composition (via high-resolution PacBio Sequel targeting the entire ITS region); distribution and abundance of rare versus prevalent fungal taxa; geographic variation in fungal community structure across a 3000 km European gradient

Outcomes reported

The study measured soil fungal diversity, community structure, and the distribution of rare versus prevalent fungal taxa across 217 sites in arable and grassland systems. It reported that arable farming consistently reduced fungal diversity and caused biotic homogenisation, with rare fungal groups disproportionally affected.

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