Climate change is moving tree populations away from the soil fungi that sustain them

[Jim__]

From phys.org

An ectomycorrhizal mushroom on the forest floor in Patagonia. Credit: SPUN/Mateo Barrenengoa
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As our planet warms, many species are shifting to different locations as their historical habitats become inhospitable. Trees are no exception—many species' normal ranges are no longer conducive to their health, but their shift to new areas that could better sustain them has been lagging behind those of other plants and animals.

Now, scientists show that the reason for this lag might be found belowground. A study published in PNAS shows that trees, especially those in the far north, may be relocating to soils that don't have the fungal life to support them.

Most plants form belowground partnerships with mycorrhizal fungi, microscopic, filamentous fungi that grow in the soil and connect with plant roots to supply plants with critical nutrients in exchange for carbon. Most large coniferous trees in northern latitudes form relationships with a kind of mycorrhizal fungi called ectomycorrhizal fungi.

"As we examined the future for these symbiotic relationships, we found that 35% of partnerships between trees and fungi that interact with the tree roots would be negatively impacted by climate change," says lead author Michael Van Nuland, a fungal ecologist at the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN).

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[FirstLight]

1. It makes sense... the fungi layer is so crucial to Life.

Everything is interconnected, scientists know that. They also know climate change is screwing so many of these delicate balances all over!

[Brenda]

2. A good book to read related to this:

The Treeline: The Last Forest and the Future of Life on Earth
by Ben Rawlence
First published February 15, 2022

For the last fifty years, the trees of the boreal forest have been moving north. Ben Rawlence's The Treeline takes us along this critical frontier of our warming planet from Norway to Siberia, Alaska to Greenland, to meet the scientists, residents and trees confronting huge geological changes. Only the hardest species survive at these latitudes including the ice-loving Dahurian larch of Siberia, the antiseptic Spruce that purifies our atmosphere, the Downy birch conquering Scandinavia, the healing Balsam poplar that Native Americans use as a cure-all and the noble Scots Pine that lives longer when surrounded by its family.

It is a journey of wonder and awe at the incredible creativity and resilience of these species and the mysterious workings of the forest upon which we rely for the air we breathe. Blending reportage with the latest science, The Treeline is a story of what might soon be the last forest left and what that means for the future of all life on earth.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56268809-the-treeline