Network Properties of Local Fungal Communities Reveal the Anthropogenic Disturbance Consequences of Farming Practices in Vineyard Soils
Rüdiger Ortiz‐Álvarez, Héctor Ortega-Arranz, Vicente J. Ontiveros, Miguel de Celis, Charles N. J. Ravarani, Alberto Acedo, Ignacio Belda
Abstract
Soil fungal communities play a key role in agroecosystem sustainability. The complexity of fungal communities, at both taxonomic and functional levels, makes it difficult to find clear patterns connecting community composition with ecosystem function and to understand the impact of biotic (interspecies interactions) and abiotic (e.g., climate or anthropogenic disturbances) factors on it. Here we combine network analysis methods and properties, proposing a novel analytical approach: to infer ecological properties from local networks, which we apply to the study of fungal communities in vineyard soils. We conclude that different levels of farming intensification may lead to different ecological strategies in soil fungal communities settled by particular association arrangements.