BACKGROUND All vascular plants associate with fungi and bacteria—the microbiome. Root
associations with mycorrhizal fungi benefit most plants by enhancing their nutrient access …

Fungi are major ecological players in both terrestrial and aquatic environments by cycling
organic matter and channelling nutrients across trophic levels. High-throughput sequencing …

Soil microorganisms are clearly a key component of both natural and managed ecosystems.
Despite the challenges of surviving in soil, a gram of soil can contain thousands of individual …

Environmental DNA (eDNA) refers to DNA that can be extracted from environmental
samples (such as soil, water, feces, or air) without the prior isolation of any target organism …

Protists include all eukaryotes except plants, fungi and animals. They are an essential, yet
often forgotten, component of the soil microbiome. Method developments have now …

Globally, forests represent highly productive ecosystems that act as carbon sinks where soil
organic matter is formed from residuals after biomass decomposition as well as from …

Soil microbiome has a pivotal role in ecosystem functioning, yet little is known about its build-
up from local to regional scales. In a multi-year regional-scale survey involving 1251 plots …

Contents Summary 50 I. Introduction 50 II. Drivers of the diversity–productivity relationship
51 III. Patterns of the diversity–productivity relationship 55 IV. Responses of mixed stands to …

While it is known that interactions between plants and soil fungi drive many essential
ecosystem functions, considerable uncertainty exists over the drivers of fungal community …

Biochar-based fertilizer amendment can improve soil properties partly due to stimulated
microbial activities and growths. The karst ecosystem is prone to degradation and accounts …