ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI IN RIPARIAN FOREST RESTORATION AND SOIL CARBON FIXATION

ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI IN RIPARIAN FOREST RESTORATION AND SOIL CARBON FIXATION The arbuscular mycorrhizal association established between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF-phylum Glomeromycota) and plant roots plays an essential role in plant survival and nutrition. In this review, the idea is outlined that the triad "riparian forest-carbon sequestration-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi" should be taken into consideration as an environmentally compatible strategy for the recovery of areas formerly covered by riparian forests. We briefly discuss the soil classes found in riparian areas and the C input in terrestrial ecosystems. AMF play an important role in the carbon sequestration process, in view of their effects on plant nutrient uptake and biomass increase in woody species, mainly of those pioneer and late secondary species used in the revegetation of riparian forests. Moreover, external AMF hyphae affect the soil structure physically, through the physical binding of soil particles by hyphae, and biochemically, by the production of a glycoprotein. The structures differentiated by AMF as spores and hyphae also represent a C input in the soil by C-rich cell compounds. The restoration of riparian forests with woody species results in the emergence of a new environmental service: C fixation incremented with mycorrhizal inoculation of the seedlings for revegetation.