Author: Brian Walsh
Date: 8 Jan. 2014
"Why Some Mushrooms May Be Magic for Climate Change": http://science.time.com/2014/01/08/why-some-mushrooms-may-be-magic-for-climate-change/
Summary:
A certain type of mycorrhizal fungi has been shown to increase the amount of carbon soil can store. This is important because soil is a huge carbon sink that could help to reduce the amount of CO2 in the air, and currently, high levels of CO2 are causing climate changes. The type of fungi shown to do this is ecto- and ericoid mycorrhizal fungi. EEM fungi can increase the carbon in the soil by as much as 70%. They do this by more effectively extracting nitrogen from the soil for themselves, and for the plant with which they are in a mutualistic relationship. The more efficient EEM fungi outcompetes microbes for nitrogen. These microbes would otherwise be living in the soil and releasing CO2 back into the atmosphere as they decompose dead plants. This relationship between plants, mycorrhizae, and decomposers is significant because it is a largely independent component in the carbon cycle. This fungi could possibly be utilized to help shape the global climate by controlling CO2 levels. However for now, the majority of plants do not form a symbiotic relationship with EEM fungi.
Relevance
Recently we have studied organisms such as fungi, bacteria, and other microorganisms. This article heavily to relates to that. Specifically we discussed the symbiotic relationships between plants and mycorrhizae, and their connection to the nitrogen cycle. At the beginning of the year, we also talked about the carbon cycle. This article discusses the connection between the nitrogen and carbon cycle through plants, which we are studying now, and fungi, which we have just studied. In addition the carbon and nitrogen cycle are linked to decomposing soil microbes. We have learned about bacteria, and the applications to which humans have used them, such as bioremediation. Similarly, bacteria could be manipulated by people through EEM to control CO2 levels in the atmosphere. This article creates a complex image of the relevance that fungi and bacteria have to humans, and correlates many previous topics together.
Is there a specific reason that the majority of plants don't form a symbiotic relationship with EEM fungi?
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ReplyDeleteI could not find a specific reason (such as one fungi outcompetes the other, or one has greater efficiency of phosphorus uptake), but it appears Arbuscular Mycorrhizae are more universal. They are extremely effective at acquiring phosphorus, and have co-evolved with plants for a long time. The vast majority of plants are capable of creating symbiotic relationship with AM, and have evolved to do this well. AM are found with bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperms, and angiosperms. Ectomycorrhizae are only found with specific types of gymnosperms and angiosperms. Ericoids form limited relationships with plants. EEM fungi have less variety of plants with which to form symbiotic relationships.
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