Responses of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and soil bacteria to simulated agricultural management practices under water stress

Farm management practices alter soli microbial processes involving colonisation of roots by arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and nutrient cycling by rhizosphere bacterial communities. This thesis addresses how complex biological mechanisms influence nutrient cycling and plant production, especially under water-stress. AM fungal colonisation and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria were shown to benefit plants exposed to water-stress. The effect of water stress on beneficial soil microbes were shown to increase for zero-disturbance, compost and clay additions, and were dependant on neighbouring plant type. This thesis also examined the discrepancies among DNA sampling techniques for AM fungi from soil, rhizosphere and roots.