Abstract: A total of 17 herbages belonging to 12 families were selected as the host plants of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). They were grown on calcareous soil and purple soil, respectively, and sampled on the 120th day after seedling emergence. The DNA of AMF in the herbages roots was extracted by CTAB method, the partial rDNA sequence encoding ribosomal 28S big unit was amplified with special primers U1/U2 for fungi, and the PCR products were analyzed with PAGE silver staining method. In calcareous soil, 29 AMF bands were found in the roots of the 17 host plant species, and each host plant was colonized by 829 AMF bands; while in purple soil, only twenty-four AMF bands were found, with 947 bands in each host plant. All the AMF bands included unique bands and common bands. Cluster analysis showed that the AMF colonization in host plant roots was family-specific, and affected by soil factors. The feasibility of applying AMF in ecological restoration of limestone area was also discussed in this paper.

Key words: calcareous soil, purple soil, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, species diversity, mixed broadleaved-Korean pine forest, selective cutting, carbon density, NPP, carbon allocation.