Abstract: Mercury (Hg) is a highly toxic metal with no known biological function, and it can be highly bioavailable in terrestrial ecosystems. Although fungi are important contributors to a number of soil processes including plant nutrient uptake and decomposition, little is known about the effect of Hg on fungi. Fungi accumulate the largest amount of Hg and are the organisms capable of the highes

Recent studies have highlighted that dead fungal mycelium represents an important fraction of soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) inputs and stocks. Consequently, identifying the microbial communities and the ecological factors that govern the decomposition of fungal necromass will provide critical insight into how fungal organic matter (OM) affects forest soil C and nutrient cycles. Here, we examine

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica L.) raises growing interest in phytomanagement because it commonly grows under poplar Short Rotation Coppices (SRC) set up at trace-metal (TM) contaminated sites and provides high-quality herbaceous fibres. The mycobiome of this non-mycorhizal plant and its capacity to adapt to TM-contaminated environments remains unknown. This study aimed at characterizing the mycob

Purpose: A better knowledge of how deadwood decomposes is critical for accurately characterizing carbon and nutrient cycling in forests. Fungi dominate this decomposition process, but we still have limited understanding of fungal community structuring that ultimately controls the fate of wood decomposition. This is particularly true in tropical ecosystems. To address this knowledge gap, our study

In forests, bacteria and fungi are key players in wood degradation. Still, studies focusing on bacterial and fungal successions during the decomposition process depending on the wood types (i.e. sapwood and heartwood) remain scarce. This study aimed to understand the effect of wood type on the dynamics of microbial ecological guilds in wood decomposition. Using Illumina metabarcoding, bacterial an

Dead fungal mycelium (necromass) represents a critical component of soil carbon (C) and nutrient cycles. Assessing how the microbial communities associated with decomposing fungal necromass change as global temperatures rise will help in determining how these belowground organic matter inputs contribute to ecosystem responses. In this study, we characterized the structure of bacterial and fungal c

We incubated 196 large-diameter aspen (Populus tremuloides), birch (Betula papyrifera), and pine (Pinus taeda) logs on the FACE Wood Decomposition Experiment encompassing eight climatically-distinct forest sites in the United States. We sampled dead wood from these large-diameter logs after 2 to 6 y of decomposition and determined wood rot type as a continuous variable using the lignin loss/densit

Past industrial activities have generated many contaminated lands from which Mercury (Hg) escapes, primarily by volatilization. Current phytomanagement techniques aim to limit Hg dispersion by increasing its stabilization in soil. Although soil fungi represent a source of Hg emission associated with biovolatilization mechanisms, there is limited knowledge about how dead fungal residues (i.e., fung

Dead microbial cells, commonly referred to as necromass, are increasingly recognized as an important source of both persistent carbon as well as nutrient availability in soils. Studies of the microbial communities associated with decomposing fungal necromass have accumulated rapidly in recent years across a range of different terrestrial ecosystems. Here we identify the primary ecological patterns

The growing demand for renewable materials and energy leads to intensified forest management practices. Therefore, combining high forest productivity and soil carbon storage capacity with lower quantities of organic matter (OM) left on the ground to decompose represents a major challenge. Although microbial communities drive processes responsible for organic carbon stabilization in soil, we have l

Ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungi play a crucial role in the mineral nitrogen (N) nutrition of their host trees. While it has been proposed that several EcM species also mobilize organic N, studies reporting the EcM ability to degrade N-containing polymers, such as chitin, remain scarce. Here, we assessed the capacity of a representative collection of 16 EcM species to acquire 15N from 15N-chitin. In ad

Background and Aims: In temperate forests, fungi are the main actors in leaf litter decomposition. Still, we have minimal knowledge of their influence on changes in leaf litter chemistry. Thus, we aimed to determine the main drivers behind leaf litter chemical transformation during decomposition. Methods: We monitored the development of fungal communities, extracellular enzyme activities, and litt

Microbial necromass contributes significantly to both soil carbon (C) persistence and ecosystem nitrogen (N) availability, but quantitative estimates of C and N movement from necromass into soils and decomposer communities are lacking. Additionally, while melanin is known to slow fungal necromass decomposition, how it influences microbial C and N acquisition as well as elemental release into soils

Although dead fungal mycelium (necromass) represents a key component of biogeochemical cycling in all terrestrial ecosystems, how different ecological factors interact to control necromass decomposition rates remains poorly understood. This study assessed how edaphic parameters, plant traits, and soil microbial community structure predicted the mass loss rates of different fungal necromasses withi

High-throughput sequencing has become a prominent tool to assess plant-associated microbial diversity. Still, some technical challenges remain in characterising these communities, notably due to plant and fungal DNA co-amplification. Fungal-specific primers, Peptide Nucleic Acid (PNA) clamps, or adjusting PCR conditions are approaches to limit plant DNA contamination. However, a systematic compari

Soil microbial communities play a key role in plant nutrition and stress tolerance. This is particularly true in sites contaminated by trace metals, which often have low fertility and stressful conditions for woody plants in particular. However, we have limited knowledge of the abiotic and biotic factors affecting the richness and composition of microbial communities inhabiting the rhizosphere of

Purpose of Review: Following a multi-scalar analytical approach, this critical literature review explores the factors that determine adaptation finance accessibility and allocation with particular attention to how the needs of climate-vulnerable communities are considered. Recent Findings: Our review reveals that climate vulnerability is not a primary determinant in the accessibility and allocatio

Economic research emphasises the role of increasing returns to scale and critical mass in research and technology development. This suggests that countries benefit from specialising in certain technologies and can thereby bundle available resources. Using the example of the Exzellenzstrategie and the Zukunftsstrategie, we argue that German RTI policy lacks strategic prioritisation. The lack of foc

Background: As the prevalence of dog allergy rises, component resolved diagnosis might improve the diagnosis, understanding of the clinical outcomes and the effectiveness of immunotherapy. Considering the paucity of data in adults, the current study characterized the patterns of sensitization to dog molecular allergens in an adult population. Methods: Data were derived from the West Sweden Asthma