The presence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Glomeromycota, AMF) in soils may be crucial for sustainable agriculture. Although AMF impact on the performance and accumulation of therapeutic compounds of several medicinal plant species has been well documented, the investigations on the influence of medicinal plants being cultivated on AMF have been insufficiently studied. The effect of three-year monocultures of mycorrhizal (Hypericum perforatum, Levisticum officinale, Mentha × citrata subsp. citrata and Thymus vulgaris) and non-mycorrhizal (Chelidonium majus) medicinal plant species on AMF propagule abundance, species richness and composition was therefore examined. The AMF non-host plant species C. majus decreased the abundance of AMF propagules in the soil, whereas the mycorrhizal plants maintained the AMF propagule potential at the same level, however, they changed the composition of AMF species. The results showed that the choice of medicinal plant species, grown even for a relatively short period of time in a monoculture, can substantially alter the AMF potential of soils which in turn can influence the performance of other medicinal plants cultivated subsequently.

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