Fungal communities in soils under global change

Area of Science:

• Soil microbiology
• Ecology
• Mycology

Background:

• Soil fungi are crucial for ecosystem processes like organic matter decomposition and plant interactions.
• Global change factors (CO2, temperature, precipitation, nitrogen deposition) significantly impact soil fungal communities.
• Increased nitrogen deposition appears to have the most profound effect on soil fungi.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and synthesize current knowledge on the effects of global change on soil fungal communities.
• To identify key global change factors affecting soil fungi and their roles.
• To highlight the potential threats to ecosystem functioning due to shifts in fungal communities.

Main Methods:

• Literature review and synthesis of existing studies on global change and soil fungi.
• Analysis of experimental manipulations and observational data.
• Assessment of impacts on different fungal guilds, including mutualistic and pathogenic fungi.

Main Results:

• Plant-mutualistic fungi (ectomycorrhizal and arbuscular mycorrhizal) are particularly sensitive to nitrogen deposition and warming, showing adverse effects.
• While fungal biodiversity may be limitedly affected, pathogenic fungi abundance and dispersal increase.
• Weakened ecosystems are more susceptible to pathogen outbreaks.

Conclusions:

• A shift from mutualistic to pathogenic soil fungi represents a major threat to ecosystem functioning.
• Current understanding of global change impacts on fungi is insufficient.
• Further experimental work and long-term observations are needed to improve predictions.