Forest soils (including litter, humus and coarse woody debris) host diverse microbial communities that impact tree health and productivity, and which play pivotal roles in terrestrial carbon sequestration, and biogeochemical cycles. Among these microbial communities, fungi play various roles from decomposing leaf litter to breaking down wood. The researchers are interested in learning more about how the soil fungal species interact with each other, as well as with the soil communities and the trees. The project will take advantage of long-term observatories located in boreal, temperate and mediterranean ecosystems with samples coming from boreal forests in the United States and Sweden, temperate forests in the United States, forest-woodlands in France and Mediterranean forests in France and Spain.
PI: Francis M. Martin