Ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) symbiotically colonise the fine roots of Quercus petrea (and other tree species), and help with nutrient and water uptake in exchange for host tree carbohydrates. These symbiotic fungi also likely play a significant role in the resilience and adaptation of oak trees to pathogen attack and changing climate.
This research simulated the effects of severe drought and pathogen attack on soil fungal communities, using rain exclusion shelters and partial tree ringbarking. Results showed that both treatments changed the EMF composition of the soil, but the simulated drought had a stronger effect.
Understanding how EMF communities respond to prolonged environmental stress will be increasingly important for predicting woodland resilience and the progression of oak decline under climate change.
Read the full paper here:
Luci J Corbett, Elena Vanguelova, Sandra Denman, Anne Verhoef, Rodica Pena, Liz J Shaw,
Drought and simulated pathogen attack shape ectomycorrhizal communities and soil nutrient dynamics in semi-mature sessile oak, Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 623, 2027, 124389, ISSN 0378-1127, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2026.124389.
