By using trap plants, 17 species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) belonging to the order Glomales were identified in 266 soil samples collected in the period 1987–1989. Of the identified isolates, 87.1% belonged to the genus Glomus Tulasne & Tulasne, 8.5% to Acaulospora Gerdemann & Trappe, 4.1% to Scutellospora Walker & Sanders and 0.3% to Entrophospora. Of the individual species identified, Glomus hoi Berch & Trappe was the most frequently identified, followed by G. fistulosum Skou & Jakobsen and G. mosseae (Nicol. & Gerd.) Gerdemann & Trappe. Only small differences in AMF trapping ability were observed between the four trap plants used, Trifolium pratense L., Zea mays L., Allium cepa L. var. cepa and Fragaria x ananassa Duch. T. pratense was chosen for further study because it had the highest AMF sporulation index in trap cultures and it also performed better than the other plants when grown in soils with different physical and chemical properties. The proportion of soil samples where AMF were identified decreased from close to 100% in the southern and central parts of Finland to about 50% in northern Finland.