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Mycorrhizal fungi as drivers and modulators of terrestrial ecosystem processes
Author(s) -
Wurzburger Nina,
Brookshire E. N. Jack,
McCormack M. Luke,
Lankau Richard A.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/nph.14409
Subject(s) - ecosystem , mycorrhizal fungi , terrestrial ecosystem , symbiosis , ecology , biology , terrestrial plant , environmental science , astrobiology , bacteria , genetics , inoculation , immunology
Over 30 years have passed since David Read’s observation that biome-level patterns in mycorrhizal dominance parallel distinct gradients in soil organic matter and nitrogen availability (Read, 1984). Read (1984) hypothesized these patterns emerged because arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM), ectomycorrhizal (ECM) and ericoid mycorrhizal (ERM) plants evolved unique functional traits in response to particular sets of environmental, and especially soil, conditions. Most intriguingly, Read suggested that mycorrhizal traits themselves modulate and stabilize this broad geographic pattern (Read, 1984; Read & Perez-Moreno, 2003), which raises a question that we still ponder today – do the functional traits of mycorrhizal fungi confer ecosystem properties that cannot be explained by climate, soils or plant composition alone?