Advances in Biology & Earth Sciences

Glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP), produced by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), has emerged as a promising indicator of mycorrhizal functioning and soil ecosystem processes under environmental stress. This study investigates the potential of soil glomalin to reveal mycorrhizal responses to global change drivers in natural grasslands of Eastern Europe and Türkiye. The target zones identified as national grassland area in the three East European countries suffering low input nutrients and water restrictions. Our results indicate that combined stress factors, including drought, salinity and low nutrient availability, can enhance AMF activity and symbiotic efficiency in the rhizosphere of dominant grassland plant species. Increased glomalin accumulation was associated with improved plant stress tolerance and competitive performance, suggesting a key role of AMF-mediated processes in ecosystem resilience. Quantification of total soil glomalin was integrated with PCR-based analyses of AMF community composition to link functional responses with species-level patterns. This study establishes a comparative data set on glomalin abundance and mycorrhizal functioning across diverse grassland systems and proposes soil glomalin as a functional biomonitor of ecosystem responses to global change. The remarkable point in this study is to indicate plant microbe interaction impacts on environmental stress effect including low nutrients input and drought conditions in grassland area.