Abstract

Forest soil fungal communities are extremely complex and diverse, and show a range of different lifestyles from saprotrophs, endophytes, pathogens, and mycorrhizal species. These belowground communities are differently distributed through space and time scales, and they are involved in key ecosystem processes such as plant community dynamics, belowground trophic interactions, and biogeochemical cycles. Through examples from different global forest ecosystems, we describe the principal abiotic and biotic factors, including natural disturbances, driving the assemblage of fungal communities in forest soils, as well as potential underlying mechanisms. We have selected research studies directed at understanding how soil fungi activities and interactions impact forest functioning and can influence the goods and services provided by these ecosystems. Finally, we show how anthropic factors shape fungal communities and, in return, how soil fungi can be better integrated in forest practices to improve ecosystem services in the upcoming decades.

Keywords

Forests; Soil fungus; Saprotroph; Mycorrhizal; Symbiosis; Carbon; Nutrient; Ecological services

Published in

Book title: Forest Microbiology Volume 1: Tree Microbiome: Phyllosphere, Endosphere and Rhizosphere
ISBN: 978-0-12-822542-4
Publisher: Elsevier

Authors' information