Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in soil and plant nutrients, as well as changes in the community structure of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) in different stand ages of Xanthoceras sorbifolium, and to analyze the driving factors affecting the AMF community.

Methods Based on 16-, 27-, 39- and 50-year old X. sorbifolium plantation forests in Ordos City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the AMF community in rhizosphere soils of different forest ages was analyzed using high-throughput sequencing technology, and the relationships between the AMF community and soil physicochemical properties, roots and leaves were examined.

Results X. sorbifolium at all stand ages established a good symbiotic relationship with AMF. A total of 1 809 ASVs, belonging to 1 phylum, 3 classes, 4 orders, 7 families and 7 genera, were obtained from the soil samples. At the genus level, there were significant differences in the community composition of AMFs in different stands, but Glomus and Paraglomus were the dominant genera in different stands. The Chao1 index of soil AMF community did not change significantly with the increase of forest age, while Observed species, Shannon and Simpson indices increased and then decreased. β-diversity also differed significantly among different stand ages（p＜0.05）. Variation partitioning analysis (VPA) indicated that soil properties had a highly significant effect on AMF communities, while root traits had a significant effect.

Conclusion As the age of the forest increases, the species composition of AMF in the rhizosphere soil of X. sorbifolium undergoes significant changes. The primary factors influencing the AMF community are soil DOC and root C content. These findings will help elucidate the interrelationships and mechanisms between the ecological system of X. sorbifolium artificial forests and AMF community diversity, providing theoretical support for the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functionality.