Collembola (Insecta) disperse the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the soil: Pot experiment

Collembola often play an important controlling role in the interrelationship between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and host plants. However, there are little data to prove AMF dispersing ability of Collembola. In our experiment Folsomia candida (Willem) did not consume the spores of Glomus mossea (Nicol. and Gerd.) and G. intraradices (Schenck and Smith), but Sinella coeca (Schott) consumed 45% of the G. mossea spores and 71% of G. intraradices spores. Both species were able to disperse mycorrhiza in the soil, but the efficiency of dispersal was different. E candida carried the infection more effectively than S. coeca, in spite of the fact that E candida did not consume the spores in the food choice experiment. The total plant biomass was 23% higher in the presence of F. candida and 8.5% higher in the presence of S. coeca than in the control treatment without Collembola. The water content of the plants was also a little higher in the presence of both Collembola species (about 10%) than that of the control plants, but this difference was not statistically significant. Collembola improved the dispersion of the AM fungi, therefore enhanced the nutrient and water uptake of the plant.