Mon, Aug 15, 2022: 1:45 PM-2:00 PM
520D
Background/Question/Methods
Nearly all trees on Earth form a root symbiosis with mycorrhizal fungi, enhancing access to critically limiting soil resources. Yet, while decades of research have demonstrated particularly which fungi trees partner with can dramatically affect growth and carbon capture in greenhouse conditions, whether these findings extend to complex and diverse mycorrhizal communities within entire forests, remains unknown. Here we assembled a paired dataset of tree growth and soil mycorrhizal fungal composition data from >100 long term forest monitoring plots distributed across continental Europe. Using this dataset, we asked soil mycorrhizal fungal composition and nutrient acquisition traits could predict tree growth rate, after accounting for common environmental drivers of forest productivity.
Results/Conclusions
Here we show that, after accounting for environmental drivers, the composition of the forest mycorrhizal community is linked to 3-fold variation in tree growth and carbon capture. Furthermore, multiple fungal genomic traits were predictive of these compositional effects. Forest mycorrhizal fungal communities that invested comparatively more in inorganic, compared to organic nutrient acquisition strategies were linked to faster tree growth, consistent with the hypothesis that organic nutrients are ecologically more expensive to acquire. Finally, we identify key indicator species of these effects, laying the groundwork to trial how different fungi may be applied to enhance tree growth and carbon removal. As genomic surveys of the forest microbiome become more widespread, we predict that more links between microbial biodiversity and forest function will emerge, identifying how microbial interactions ultimately ripple through an ecosystem to govern macro-scale ecological processes.
Nearly all trees on Earth form a root symbiosis with mycorrhizal fungi, enhancing access to critically limiting soil resources. Yet, while decades of research have demonstrated particularly which fungi trees partner with can dramatically affect growth and carbon capture in greenhouse conditions, whether these findings extend to complex and diverse mycorrhizal communities within entire forests, remains unknown. Here we assembled a paired dataset of tree growth and soil mycorrhizal fungal composition data from >100 long term forest monitoring plots distributed across continental Europe. Using this dataset, we asked soil mycorrhizal fungal composition and nutrient acquisition traits could predict tree growth rate, after accounting for common environmental drivers of forest productivity.
Results/Conclusions
Here we show that, after accounting for environmental drivers, the composition of the forest mycorrhizal community is linked to 3-fold variation in tree growth and carbon capture. Furthermore, multiple fungal genomic traits were predictive of these compositional effects. Forest mycorrhizal fungal communities that invested comparatively more in inorganic, compared to organic nutrient acquisition strategies were linked to faster tree growth, consistent with the hypothesis that organic nutrients are ecologically more expensive to acquire. Finally, we identify key indicator species of these effects, laying the groundwork to trial how different fungi may be applied to enhance tree growth and carbon removal. As genomic surveys of the forest microbiome become more widespread, we predict that more links between microbial biodiversity and forest function will emerge, identifying how microbial interactions ultimately ripple through an ecosystem to govern macro-scale ecological processes.