Emerging themes and technologies in multi-organismal approaches to understanding mycorrhizal functioning

By sustaining plant primary production, the mycorrhizal symbiosis is crucial for regulating life on earth, and in driving numerous critical ecosystem processes and functions (Smith and Read, 2008).Increasingly, attention is turning to managing or utilizing mycorrhizal fungi to address key societal challenges such as sustainable food and timber production, woodland expansion, ecosystem restoration, and resilience against climatic extremes.Consequently, there is growing recognition of the need to consider the function and diversity of mycorrhizal symbioses from a broad perspective that includes the myriad interactions occurring across trophic levels, use of emerging technologies, and even the redefinition of our current understanding of the broad types of mycorrhiza found on Earth.