Abstract
Like humans, plant and animal species have a specific type of place, called an ecosystem, where they prefer to live. If the ecosystem changes too much, some species will disappear, much the same way people avoid living in the desert because it is too hot and dry. Humans modify many ecosystems, sometimes so severely that almost no plants or animals can live there anymore. To help damaged ecosystems recover, we often start by planting trees or other plants. Biologists found that mycorrhizal fungi, tiny fungi living in the soil and inside plant roots, could speed up ecosystem recovery by making plants grow back faster and stronger. In this article, we describe how the recovery of ecosystems can be enhanced by mycorrhizal fungi, and when mycorrhizal fungi are especially helpful.
Highlights
AGE: Like humans, plant and animal species have a specific type of place, called an ecosystem, where they prefer to live
Biologists found that mycorrhizal fungi, tiny fungi living in the soil and inside plant roots, could speed up ecosystem recovery by making plants grow back faster and stronger
We describe how the recovery of ecosystems can be enhanced by mycorrhizal fungi, and when mycorrhizal fungi are especially helpful
Summary
Plant and animal species have a specific type of place, called an ecosystem, where they prefer to live. If the ecosystem changes too much, some species will disappear, much the same way people avoid living in the desert because it is too hot and dry. Sometimes so severely that almost no plants or animals can live there anymore. To help damaged ecosystems recover, we often start by planting trees or other plants. Biologists found that mycorrhizal fungi, tiny fungi living in the soil and inside plant roots, could speed up ecosystem recovery by making plants grow back faster and stronger. We describe how the recovery of ecosystems can be enhanced by mycorrhizal fungi, and when mycorrhizal fungi are especially helpful
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