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12 - Is diversity of mycorrhizal fungi important for ecosystem functioning?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 September 2009

By
J. R. Leake ,
D. Johnson ,
D. P. Donnelly ,
L. Boddy  and
D. J. Read
Edited by
Richard Bardgett ,
Michael Usher  and
David Hopkins
J. R. Leake
Affiliation:
University of Sheffield
D. Johnson
Affiliation:
University of Aberdeen
D. P. Donnelly
Affiliation:
Cardiff University
L. Boddy
Affiliation:
Cardiff University
D. J. Read
Affiliation:
University of Sheffield
Richard Bardgett
Affiliation:
Lancaster University
Michael Usher
Affiliation:
University of Stirling
David Hopkins
Affiliation:
University of Stirling
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Summary

SUMMARY

  1. Globally accelerating rates of species loss make it imperative that relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem function are analysed, yet resolution of these interactions has presented one of the most intractable challenges in ecological research.

  2. Because biodiversity in soil is considerably greater than that above ground, and the identities and functions of many soil microorganisms are uncharacterised, the difficulties involved in establishing diversity–function relationships in the below-ground environment are compounded.

  3. For some keystone groups of soil microorganisms, prominent among which are the mycorrhizal fungi, diversity–function relationships are starting to be elucidated. Mycorrhizal symbionts are present in virtually all terrestrial ecosystems where they are major components of the soil microbial biomass.

  4. There is increasing evidence that mycorrhizal diversity is of central importance in agro-ecosystem functioning, and that intensification of agriculture and forestry, combined with air and soil pollution, is reducing their diversity and compromising their functioning. Two lines of evidence support the case that mycorrhizal diversity is of major functional significance, namely (1) that mycorrhizal associations are multi-functional and exhibit complementarity, assisting plants in nutrient acquisition, mediating carbon transfer between plants and protecting their roots from pathogens; and (2) that on the basis of emerging evidence of a combination of high specificity and dependency in many mycorrhizal associations, especially those involving myco-heterotrophic plants, it is hypothesised that the extent of functional ‘redundancy’ is low.

Introduction

It is now recognised that the accelerating rates of species extinctions, which are arising from progressive intensification of land use, pose a global threat to biodiversity (Pimm et al. 1995).

Type
Chapter
Information
Biological Diversity and Function in Soils , pp. 216 - 235
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2005

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