The Functional Role of Mycorrhizal Fungi in Forest Ecosystems

Dear Colleagues,

Mycorrhizal fungi are organisms that play an important role in the forest ecosystem, where under natural conditions, most plants, including almost all forest trees, live in a symbiotic relationship, supplying the plants with water and mineral salts but also protecting the roots from pathogen infection. These fungi are commonly found in the environment forming mycorrhiza, a mutualistic relationship with the roots of most trees. This obligate relationship is stable and long-lasting. This symbiosis also helps to achieve biological balance in ecosystems. Research shows that mycorrhiza can promote tolerance to numerous abiotic (e.g., drought, salt, heavy metals) and biotic (e.g., pathogenic fungi) stresses. Trees benefit from protection from pathogens by both arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and ectomycorrhizal fungi. Although ectomycorrhizae only form on the roots of about 2% of plant species, they are extremely important in many temperate and boreal forests. In return for increasing the plant's access to soil nutrients, the fungi receive carbon (C) from photosynthesis as a source of energy for the fungus, and the fungus (mycobiont) significantly increases the plant's supply of biogenic elements, mainly nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), taken up from the soil via the root hairs. In recent years, research has indicated an additional role for mycorrhizae in learning, memory and communication between host trees via a common mycorrhizal network. Research on ECM mycorrhizal hyphae shows that mycorrhizal fungi have a strong influence on soil structure but also directly on soil carbon fixation processes through its accumulation in the frass and indirectly by influencing decomposition. Mycorrhizae are very sensitive to anthropogenic changes leading to the disruption of biogeochemical cycles, including carbon and nitrogen.

Dr. Wojciech Szewczyk
Prof. Dr. Jolanta Behnke-Borowczyk
Guest Editors

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