Towards Ecological Relevance — Progress and Pitfalls in the Path Towards an Understanding of Mycorrhizal Functions in Nature

Abstract

The major achievement of the first hundred years of research on the mycorrhizal symbiosis is the observation that the symbiosis is almost universally present in natural communities of terrestrial plants. However, studies of the functional characteristics of the mycorrhizal associations have used, for the most part, reductionist approaches, and the role of the symbiosis in the dynamics of terrestrial plant communities has been largely overlooked. This chapter, along with others contained in the book, describes attempts made so far to place the mycorrhizal function in the broader context. The strengths and weaknesses of reductionist approaches to investigation of mycorrhizal function are assessed and the overriding need to recognise and tackle the inherent complexity of plant and microbial communities is seen as a fundamental prerequisite for progress towards ecological relevance. Two distinct pathways are seen to have the potential to facilitate this progress, one involving microcosm’, the other ‘field’ approaches. The relative advantages and disadvantages of each approach is examined and the features of experimental design which will enhance the potential to obtain ecologically meaningful outputs are considered in detail. It is concluded that, in addition to the requirement for greater sophistication in our experimental approaches, there is a need for more effective collaboration with specialists in related disciplines, most notably soil chemists, bacteriologists, micro-faunists and those dealing with other fungal groups, if we are to gain an appreciation of the status of the mycorrhizal symbiosis in the larger context of ecosystem function.