Dear Colleagues,

Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi are an important component of the biodiversity of temperate and boreal forests. ECM fungi and their acitivties are an essential part of key ecosystem functions such as nutrient acquisition, drought tolerance of trees, enhancing tolerance to root and shoot pathogens, influencing the biochemical activity of forest trees, and the overall stability of forests. Ectomycorrhizal fungi are increasingly viewed as a major functional guild across forest ecosystems, and our ability to study them is rapidly expanding. The diversity of ECM fungi can be influenced by several factors, including climatic and other abiotic factors (e.g., soil moisture, temperature and/or pH, levels of nutrients in the soil, fire) and anthropic factors such as environmental disturbance caused by human activity. In the 21st century, biodiversity loss is often considered a major driver of ecosystem changes and can adversely influence ECM fungi and diminish the diversity of the fungal community. Therefore, reliable information on the biodiversity of ECM fungi is urgently needed to help nature managers to implement scientifically supported efficient conservation actions.

This Special Issue of Forests entitled “The Importance and Conservation of Ectomycorrhizal Fungal Diversity in Forest Ecosystems” is focused on ECM fungi and the role they play in different forest ecosystems. We encourage studies from all fields of ECM ecology, but particularly those which attempt to describe spatial patterns of ECM diversity and community structure, the functional properties of ECM fungi in field settings, the environmental and ecological factors that control ECM distributions, responses of dominant ECM fungi to global change (specifically increased CO₂, nutrient availability, temperature and drought), the effect of forest management on a diversity of ECM fungi and shifts in dominant species, and/or extinction of certain ECM fungi under changing environmental conditions.

Prof. Dr. Maria Rudawska
Dr. Tomasz Leski
Guest Editors

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• ectomycorrhizal fungi
• biodiversity
• fungal diversity
• fungal community
• conservation strategies
• forest management