Background: Quantification of carbon allocation in mycorrhizal plant parts is an important task in mycorrhizal physiology and ecology, especially for arid and semi-arid barren ecosystem. Here, we investigate the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on the distribution of photosynthetic carbon in different plant parts and the influence factors. A 13C pulse-labeling method was used to investigate the effects of AMF on the carbon absorption and photosynthate distribution in parts of

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... determined the concentrations of P, K and Mg in plant parts and their correlations with AMF and soil physicochemical properties using redundancy analysis. Results: The total amount of 13C in plants inoculated with AMF was significantly higher than controls. The 13C distribution rates in true leaves 6-7 and 8-12 were higher 26.2% and 41.7% than in the controls indicating that AMF promoted plant fixation of more photosynthetic carbon in plant parts. Soil EEG, HD and SOC were identified as the edaphic factors affecting carbon distribution in different plant part. Conclusion: The study demonstrates that AMF can lead to elevated photosynthetic carbon sequestration and increased transfer of photosynthetic products to roots and soil compared with non-mycorrhizal maize, provide baseline data for assessing carbon accumulation effects of AMF on semi-arid soil.