Details Of Nature: Relationship Between Soil Fungi And Tree Seedling Is More Complex -- Research

The relationship between soil fungi and tree seedlings is far more complicated than many would know. The new research suggests that these are as complex in the feedback loop.

In a new paper published in the journal Science, it shows that the relationship between the soil fungi and the tree seedlings is more difficult to understand than most people know. The paper is co-written by Ylva Lekberg, who is an assistant professor of Soil Community Ecology at the University of Montana.

In a report by Science Daily, Lekberg and her team conducted a study of 55 species and 550 populations of North American trees. It has been previously known by a lot of scientists that plants and soil biota can regulate one another. However, the new findings give emphasis to the complexity of the feedback loop.

Ylva Lekberg shared that, "Fungi differ in their ability to protect tree seedlings from pathogens. This has implications for seedling recruitment and therefore forest community patterns."

As follows, most of the plant roots are colonized by mycorrhizal fungi, but tree species are linked with different fungal groups. The study revealed that ectomycorrhizal fungi that create a thick sheet around the root tips are better in protecting the trees from pathogens than arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.

Thus, while the ectomycorrhizal tree seedlings actually prefer growing next to parent trees, arbuscular mycorrhizal tree seedlings can only settle outside the control of parents' enemies. This can have some consequences for how the temperature of the forests is structured and their overall diversity, according to Phys.org.

In line with this, Ylva Lekberg added that, "Our findings show that to appreciate the complexity of nature, we need to better understand and consider the interactions between plants and soil biota."

Ylva Lekberg also works for UM's Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences in the W.A. Franke College of Forestry & Conservation. Also, she works with the MPG Ranch, a research and conservation organization in Montana's Bitterroot Valley.