Abstract
Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi play a fundamental role in the nutrient cycle in terrestrial ecosystems, especially in forest systems. In this chapter, the value of ECM fungi is reviewed from a global framework, not only to increase the production of edible fruit bodies and biomass of plants but also for the regular practices of reforestation and restoration of ecosystems, with implicit applications in biofertilization, bioremediation, and control of soil pathogens. Ecological functions of the ECM fungi are briefly reviewed. The direct implications of the ECM fungi in forestry are described. To do so, its role as a biotechnological tool in forest nursery production is briefly analyzed, as well as the role of mycorrhizal helper bacteria (MHB). Subsequently, the direct role as biofertilizers of the ECM fungi in forest management is discussed: reforestation, plantation management, and ecosystem restoration. The importance of ECM fungi to increase the tolerance of plants against biotic or abiotic stresses is analyzed.
Highlights
Since Frank’s description of mycorrhizal association in the 1880s [1], a lot of work has been generated by different investigators as a consequence of which it is estimated that 86% of terrestrial plant species are benefited as they acquire their mineral nutrients via mycorrhizal roots [2]
Researches have confirmed that ECM fungi play a key role in terrestrial ecosystems as drivers of global carbon and nutrient cycles [19]
The inoculation of ECM fungi can be done with the objective of producing edible carpophores and because of its considerable value in forest management; in particular, they have had great importance in reforestation programs where it was expected that the quality and economic productivity of the plantations would increase [89]
Summary
It was Albert Bernhard Frank (1885), a forest pathologist, who for the first time introduced the term mycorrhiza. Since Frank’s description of mycorrhizal association in the 1880s [1], a lot of work has been generated by different investigators as a consequence of which it is estimated that 86% of terrestrial plant species are benefited as they acquire their mineral nutrients via mycorrhizal roots [2] These groups of fungi establish a symbiotic relationship with the roots of plants, called mycorrhizas. The Arbuscular Mycorrhizal fungi (AM) form arbuscules and vesicles, they are more variable than ECM fungi since they form symbiosis with trees and herbaceous plants Each of these categories is characterized by the invasion of plant root cells by fungal hyphae but differs in the nature of intracellular hyphal development [4, 5]. The black truffle or Périgord, Tuber melanosporum, is widely grown, while other species of ECM mushrooms have not yet been cultivated, including fungi porcini (Boletus edulis S.) and the high-priced Italian fungus, white truffles (Tuber magnatum)
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