Research perspectives on functional diversity in ectomycorrhizal fungi

Ectomycorrhizal fungi in mineral soil

Ectomycorrhizal fungi are mutualistic symbionts of many forest trees and play a major role in nutrient uptake. They form diverse communities in boreal forest soils but functional differences within this group of fungi remain largely unknown. We study ectomycorrhzal fungi in mineral soil to determine how abiotic preferences influence their spatial distribution in stratified soil profiles. This i...

Functional diversity in resource use by fungi.

Fungi influence nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems, as they are major regulators of decomposition and soil respiration. However, little is known about the substrate preferences of individual fungal species outside of laboratory culture studies. If active fungi differ in their substrate preferences in situ, then changes in fungal diversity due to global change may dramatically influence ...

The ecology of ectomycorrhizal fungi

The ecology of ectomycorrhizal fungi

Effects of Fire on Ectomycorrhizal Fungi in Fennoscandian Boreal Forests

Fire, the primary natural disturbance factor in Fennoscandian boreal forests, is considered to have exerted major selection pressure on most boreal forest organisms. However, recent studies show that few ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi appear to have evolved post-fi re adaptations, no succession of EM fungi following fi re is apparent after low intensity fi res, and only two EM fungal taxa exclusive...