Abstract
Fungi play key roles at two levels of ecological organization: in communities, fungi are symbionts of plants and animals, while in ecosystems, fungi are decomposers that recycle nutrients to other organisms [...]
Highlights
Fungi play key roles at two levels of ecological organization: in communities, fungi are symbionts of plants and animals, while in ecosystems, fungi are decomposers that recycle nutrients to other organisms
Connections occur between the community and ecosystem levels, as some symbioses result in nutrient acquisition to increase primary productivity
At the community level, the outcome of fungal symbioses can range along a spectrum from parasitic to mutualistic for the host
Summary
Fungi play key roles at two levels of ecological organization: in communities, fungi are symbionts of plants and animals, while in ecosystems, fungi are decomposers that recycle nutrients to other organisms. Connections occur between the community and ecosystem levels, as some symbioses result in nutrient acquisition to increase primary productivity. At the community level, the outcome of fungal symbioses can range along a spectrum from parasitic to mutualistic for the host. As fungi interact with diverse hosts and substrates, Kingdom Fungi encompass high levels of diversity, with recent estimates that range from 2.2 to 3.8 million species on the planet [1].
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