Wild Neighbors: Mycorrhizae101

Mycorrhizal fungi, known to provide a wide range of ecosystem services such as erosion control and water retention, are also the organisms that form common mycorrhizal networks (CMNs), now famous for their “wood wide web” or underground highways that share resources and signals between plants. Lisa Markovchick, a post-doctoral researcher at Northern Arizona University, where she studies intersections between land management concerns and mycorrhizal fungi (symbiotic with plant roots) presents about the mycorrhizal relationship with trees, plants, and soils, as well as potential mycorrhizal benefits, and what we can learn from further study. *In reference to clarify a point during the Q&A session: AMF (arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi) reproduction is not Lisa's area of specialty. There is limited evidence, mostly extrapolated from genetics, that seems to indicate at least some sexual reproduction in AMF, but it remains an area of debate. For further information see: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27572...