Abstract We analysed the mycorrhizal types of two coastal Mediterranean plant communities. Plants belong- ing to 82 species of 46 families growing in two Mediter- ranean study sites located within a Regional Natural Park in Italy (Macchia Lucchese) and in a National Park in Croatia (Brijuni) were assessed for the type of their my- corrhizal associations. Mycorrhizas occurred in 83% and 90% of the plant species surveyed in Macchia Lucchese and in Brijuni, respectively. On the basis of macroscopic and microscopic characteristics, six different mycorrhi- zal types were found, and their co-occurrence in the same plant community showed the large mycorrhizal di- versity in Mediterranean vegetation. Different occur- rence patterns of mycorrhizal types have been recogni- sed in diverse habitats within Macchia Lucchese, from sand dune plant communities to sclerophyllous wood- land. Mycorrhizal type abundance calculated on a floris- tic basis was very different from that obtained using a vegetation cover index. Keywords Mediterranean ecosystem · Plant associations · Mycorrhizal diversity · Sand dunes · Natural reserves Introduction Studies on the distribution of mycorrhizal associations in nature have shown close relationships between major terrestrial biomes and predominant mycorrhizal types, and distinctive patterns of mycorrhizal symbiosis have been identified (Brundrett 1991; Read 1991). Moreover, mycorrhizal diversity is considered an important factor in the establishment, survival and maintenance of plant community diversity (Grime et al. 1987; Brundrett and Kendrick 1988; Read 1998; Van der Heijden et al. 1998). Despite the important role played by mycorrhizal diver- sity in natural plant communities, there is little informa- tion on the distribution and abundance of the different mycorrhizal associations in European Mediterranean ar- eas (Lamont 1982; Puppi and Tartaglini 1991; Read 1991; Lansac et al. 1995; Requena et al. 1996). This study was carried out to detect the different types and occurrence patterns of mycorrhizal associations in their natural habitats in two plant ecosystems within the Mediterranean basin, chosen for their location in coastal nature reserves. Materials and methods Description of the study sites The study sites were: Macchia Lucchese, located in the Mig- liarino-San Rossore-Massaciuccoli Regional Natural Park, on the north-western coast of Tuscany, near Pisa (Italy) (approximately 43° 49′ N, 10° 17′ W) and Veli Brijuni, the central and largest is- land of the Brijuni archipelago (approximately 44° 55′ N, 13° 43′ E), an undisturbed site within the National Park of Brijuni (Croatia), near the Western coast of the Istria Peninsula. Soil char- acteristics, which are reported in Table 1, varied distinctly be- tween the two sites, whereas they were relatively constant across each site. In Macchia Lucchese, the average annual air temperature is 14°C and the total annual precipitation is 1,021 mm. The site con- sists of a succession of dunes and backdune depressions backed by a woodland composed of sclerophyllous and wetland forest com- munities. The dune vegetation is well preserved and includes many grass species such as Ammophila arenaria (L.) Link, Cakile A. Maremmani · S. Bedini · M. Giovannetti ( ✉ ) Dipartimento di Chimica e Biotecnologie Agrarie, Università di Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy e-mail: mgiova@agr.unipi.it Tel.: +39-50-571561, Fax: +39-50-571562 I. Matoševic Dipartimento di Produzione Vegetale e Tecnologie Agrarie, Università di Udine, Via delle Scienze 208, 33100 Udine, Italy P.E. Tomei Dipartimento di Agronomia e Gestione dell'agro-ecosistema, Università di Pisa, Via S. Michele degli Scalzi 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy M. Giovannetti Istituto di Biologia e Biotecnologia Agraria, CNR, Sezione di Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy Mycorrhiza (2003) 13:33–40 DOI 10.1007/s00572-002-0194-5 ORIGINAL PAPER Andrea Maremmani · Stefano Bedini Ivica Matoševic · Paolo E. Tomei Manuela Giovannetti Type of mycorrhizal associations in two coastal nature reserves of the Mediterranean basin Received: 8 October 2001 / Accepted: 5 July 2002 / Published online: 14 August 2002 © Springer-Verlag 2002