Although arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) spores diversity is well studied in several ecosystems, very little is known about AMF spore diversity in cold-dominated ecosystems of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Overall 60 soil samples were collected from 15 sites, with 5 replicates of each including agriculture, forest, meadow, and shrub ecosystems. Both morphological and molecular methods were adapted for spore identification. At the generic level, differences among the four ecosystems were distinct. The agriculture ecosystem was particularly unique due to its greater uneven distribution of AMF genera. Four of the 11 genera, Diversispora , Funneliformis , Claroideoglomus , and Acaulospora , accounted for more than 90% of the total relative abundance. Acaulospora koskei , Funneliformis sp. and Dentiscutata erythropa were the key indicator species in agriculture, shrub and meadow ecosystems, respectively. Spore densities in the agriculture ecosystem were higher than in the other ecosystems while species richness were lower. Compared to other ecosystems Shannon index of diversity indicated the highest diversity of AMF in forest. Morphological and single spore identification provides the better differentiation in community distributions and occurrence as well as the diversity of AMF spores in various ecosystems.
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