Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi of tropical sand dunes of West Coast of India

Root colonization and spore density of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the rhizosphere of 12 plant species growing on sand dunes in the west coast of India were studied during post-monsoon season. Borreria articularis, Ipomoea pes-caprae and Launaea sarmentosa were dominant plant species on the dunes. The level of AM fungal root colonization ranged from 34 to 80 percent. Highest number of vesicles and arbuscules were found in I. pes-caprae and Emelia sonchifolia respectively. Except for I. pes-caprae, AM fungal spores were found in the rhizosphere of all plants. The mean spore density was 0.75 g^-1. Out of a total of 16 species of AM fungi, nine species belonged to genus Glomus. Among the spore communities, Gigaspora ramisporophora, Glomus albidum, Glomus clarum and Scutellispora gregaria were dominant. Glomus albidum colonized all plant species except I. pes-caprae. Five species of AM fungal spores were recorded from non-vegetated dune adjacent to vegetated dune, of them Glomus albidum and Glomus lacteum were abundant. A strong positive correlation was found between spore density and number of species; relative abundance and frequency of occurrence of AM fungal spores in rhizophere.