Fungi research and knowledge grew rapidly following recent advances in genetics and genomics. This book synthesizes new knowledge with existing information to stimulate new scientific questions and propel fungal scientists on to the next stages of research. This book is a comprehensive guide on fungi, environmental sensing, genetics, genomics, interactions with microbes, plants, insects, and humans, technological applications, and natural product development.

Edible ectomycorrhizal mushrooms (EEMMs) comprise more than 1000 species and are an important food and forest resource. In this volume of Soil Biology, internationally recognized scientists offer their most recent research findings on these beguiling fungi. Topics covered include: complex ecological interactions between plants, EEMMs, and soil organisms; comparative genomics, high-throughput sequencing and modern research tools; genetic selection of fungal strains and techniques for inoculating plants; economic and social considerations surrounding wild collected EEMMs; and practical information concerning soil management and EEMM cultivation. The book will be a useful guide for anyone interested in soil ecology, forestry, or the genetics and cultivation of EEMMs, and provides an extensive knowledge base and inspirations for future studies on these ecologically and economically important fungi.

This volume quantifies carbon storage in managed forest ecosystems not only in biomass, but also in all soil compartments. It investigates the interaction between the carbon and nitrogen cycles by working along a north-south transect through Europe that starts in northern Sweden, passes through a N-deposition maximum in central Europe and ends in Italy. For the first time biogeochemical processes are linked to biodiversity on a large geographic scale and with special focus on soil organisms. The accompanying CD-ROM provides a complete database of all flux, storage and species observations for modellers.

This book offers a timely overview and synthesis of biogeographic patterns of plants and fungi and their mycorrhizal associations across geographic scales. Written by leading experts in the field, it provides an updated definition of mycorrhizal types and establishes the best practices of modern biogeographic analyses. Individual chapters address the basic processes and mechanisms driving community ecology, population biology and dispersal in mycorrhizal fungi, which differ greatly from these of prokaryotes, plants and animals. Other chapters review the state-of-the-art knowledge about the distribution, ecology and biogeography of all mycorrhizal types and the most important fungal groups involved in mycorrhizal symbiosis. The book argues that molecular methods have revolutionized our understanding of the ecology and biogeography of mycorrhizal symbiosis and that rapidly evolving high-throughput identification and genomics tools will provide unprecedented information about the structure and functioning of mycorrhizal symbiosis on a global scale. This volume appeals to scientists in the fields of plant and fungal ecology and biogeography.