Fungal Species: Cenococcum

A trait spectrum linking nitrogen acquisition and carbon use of ectomycorrhizal fungi

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Different types of ectomycorrhizal fungi have evolved distinct strategies for acquiring nutrients from soil and transferring them to trees. The study proposes that these fungi can be arranged on a spectrum from ‘absorbers’ that quickly grab available nutrients in fertile forests to ‘miners’ that slowly exploit tough organic matter in poor forests. This framework explains why the same fungus behaves differently depending on soil fertility and unifies seemingly contradictory observations about fungal responses to nutrient additions.

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A trait spectrum linking nitrogen acquisition and carbon use of ectomycorrhizal fungi

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Forest mushroom fungi form partnerships with tree roots to help them get nutrients from soil. This research proposes that these fungi fall into two main types along a spectrum: ‘absorbers’ that quickly build large fungal networks to capture easily available nitrogen, and ‘miners’ that slowly grow elaborate cord systems to break down difficult organic matter and extract nitrogen. The study uses math models to show how different fungal strategies affect both how much carbon the trees provide and how much nitrogen returns to the trees.

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The Expanding Truffle Environment: A Study of the Microbial Dynamics in the Old Productive Site and the New Tuber magnatum Picco Habitat

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Researchers studied how microbial communities (fungi and bacteria) develop in expanding white truffle forests compared to established productive forests in Tuscany, Italy. Over two years, they found that new forest areas have more diverse and unstable microbial communities with rapid colonization by various fungi, while older forests show more stable communities dominated by truffle-associated fungi. The study reveals how forest management practices, like selective cutting, influence the balance between fungi that break down plant material and those that form beneficial relationships with tree roots, suggesting that understanding these microbial dynamics is key to successfully expanding truffle cultivation.

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