[Research advances in soil fungal diversity and molecular ecology]

Fungi are a kind of important soil microorganisms that participate in the decomposition of organic materials and supply nutrients to the plant through symbiosis. But, they can also reduce the output of food due to the existence of pathogenic fungi. Soil fungal diversity plays a fundamentally unique role in maintaining the balance of ecosystem and in supplying large amount of undeveloped resources for the people. In this paper, soil fungal diversity was expatiated from the viewpoints of species diversity, habitant diversity and functional diversity, and furthermore, the research advances in the molecular ecology of soil fungal diversity were reviewed from the aspects of the fungal diversity of farmland, woodland, pasture, extreme environment, and other complex environments. The affecting factors of soil fungal diversity were discussed, and the development trend of the study on soil fungal diversity was also approached.