The red, orange, and spotted mushrooms that sprout up after it rains may be critical to the health of Earth’s ecosystems—especially after drought.
The red, orange, and spotted mushrooms that sprout up after it rains are doing more than adding color to the landscape. The fungi that produce them could be keeping the natural world productive and stable, according to a new study. Indeed, they may be critical to the health of Earth’s ecosystems, says Matthias Rillig, a soil ecologist at the Free University Berlin who was not involved with the work.
Many of these fungi live belowground, but researchers have traditionally paid little mind to them. In the past few years, however, ecologists have realized that some—such as soil fungi called mycorrhizae—that connect trees and supply them with nutrients, enabling a forest to thrive. Using DNA, Delgado-Baquerizo’s team identified what proportion of soil fungi at each site were pathogens, mycorrhizae, decomposers , and fungi that live inside plant roots. The researchers also examined satellite images that showed how much photosynthesis was going on in each area—and thus, how productive the vegetation was—and how much that productivity changed over the past 2 decades. “It is a clever combination of data,” Rillig says.
In contrast, having a wide variety of pathogens seemed to compromise the health of the aboveground ecosystem. Plants grew slower and carried out less photosynthesis, productivity that helps fuel the rest of the ecosystem’s organisms. Pathogens may weaken plants and make them less able to withstand climate stresses. “It is fascinating that, despite all the other variables changing from site to site, these patterns stand out,” Rillig says.
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