MYCOLab Ai Logo - gold and army green

Towards understanding the impact of mycorrhizal fungal environments on the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems

Summary

This research examines how different types of fungal partners of plants affect soil health and function. Scientists propose a new framework called mycorrhizal fungal environments (MyFE) to better understand how these underground fungi influence carbon storage, nutrient cycling, and overall soil properties. They introduced a large-scale experiment called Mycotron to study three main types of mycorrhizal fungi and their distinct impacts on soil processes, which could help us better manage soils in response to climate change.

Background

Mycorrhizal fungi form mutualistic relationships with terrestrial plants, controlling carbon and nutrient fluxes in soil ecosystems. Different mycorrhizal types create distinct soil environments with unique properties. Current knowledge about mycorrhizal impacts on soil functioning remains fragmented and poorly conceptualized.

Objective

To propose a conceptual framework of mycorrhizal fungal environments (MyFE) and identify knowledge gaps related to understanding and quantifying mycorrhizal fungal impacts on soil biogeochemical cycles. To introduce the Mycotron experimental framework for quantitatively assessing mycorrhizal impacts on ecosystem functions.

Results

The MyFE framework identifies critical knowledge gaps across four main domains: mycorrhizal fungal impacts on soil carbon, contributions to carbon transfer between soil pools, differences between ECM and ERM fungal guilds, and formation of carbon pools with varying stability. The Mycotron experiment provides a testbed to quantitatively evaluate distinct mycorrhizal fungal impacts on multiple ecosystem functions.

Conclusion

The proposed MyFE framework provides a comprehensive systems-level perspective for understanding mycorrhizal influences on soil biogeochemical cycles and ecosystem functioning. This approach enhances ability to predict soil processes, assess soil health, and inform land management practices in response to climate change and environmental challenges.
  • Published in:FEMS Microbiology Ecology,
  • Study Type:Review with Experimental Framework Introduction,
  • Source: 10.1093/femsec/fiaf062, PMID: 40512519, PMCID: PMC12320777
Scroll to Top