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Gaps in South American Mycorrhizal Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function Research

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Mycorrhizal Fungi in South America

Part of the book series: Fungal Biology ((FUNGBIO))

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Abstract

Linking how mycorrhizal biodiversity and functioning are related has been at the forefront of mycorrhizal ecology over the last decades. Typically, plant growth and nutrition are thought as the most important output or function of the mycorrhizal symbiosis, but there are plenty more functions, such as soil aggregation and chemical and pathogen defense, among others. Furthermore, we still do not know how different mycorrhizal types are related to different ecosystem functions. This is especially the case in the southern hemisphere. In this chapter, we conducted a meta-analysis of research in South American mycorrhizal biodiversity and ecosystem functions through a Web of Science search (1945–2021). Overall, we found 532 articles from which 1528 sampling sites were obtained, 80% of them in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. In 63.09% of the sampling sites, mycorrhizal biodiversity was solely investigated, while this percentage was 12.70% for mycorrhizal functioning. In 24.21% of the sites, both mycorrhizal biodiversity and ecosystem functions were conjointly investigated, a surprisingly high number in comparison at global-scale research. Several biomes were highly understudied: the Atacama Desert, Patagonian Steppe, Cerrado, Chaco, and the Amazonian rainforest. Most mycorrhizal functions (except plant growth and soil aggregation) were understudied, as well as orchid and ericoid mycorrhizal associations. Very specific regions and ecosystems, many located close to big cities, concentrate most of the mycorrhizal research in South America. More baseline research on plant and fungal taxonomy, mycorrhization, and experiments of response to mycorrhizas are very needed to solve these described gaps.

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Acknowledgments

To C. Guillermo Bueno and Carlos A. Guerra for discussion and inspiration for this chapter. To the Fondecyt Project (ANID – Chile) No. 1190642 and to the Convocatoria Nacional Subvención a Instalación Academia 2021 + Folio SA77210019.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigación e Innovación para el Cambio Climático, Universidad Santo Tomás, Valdivia, Chile

    César Marín

  2. Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile

    Roberto Godoy

  3. Escuela de Geografía, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile

    Javiera Rubio

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  1. César Marín
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  2. Roberto Godoy
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  3. Javiera Rubio
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Correspondence to César Marín .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. MICODIF (Micología, Diversidad e Interacciones Fúngicas), Universidad Nacional de San Luis-IMIBIO-CONICET- CCT SL, San Luis, Argentina

    Mónica A. Lugo

  2. Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Marcela C. Pagano

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Marín, C., Godoy, R., Rubio, J. (2022). Gaps in South American Mycorrhizal Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function Research. In: Lugo, M.A., Pagano, M.C. (eds) Mycorrhizal Fungi in South America. Fungal Biology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12994-0_22

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