Southern Highlands: Fungal Endosymbiotic Associations

Abstract

It is affirmed that fungi kingdom is more diverse in tropical ecosystems than in temperate ones. However, not all fungi in nature follow that pattern. A good example occurs with symbiotic fungi that form mycorrhiza. Arbuscular (endo-) mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are more diverse in tropical ecosystems but ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi are more diverse in temperate and boreal ecosystems (Tedersoo et al. 2014). Most important, endo- and ecto-mycorrhizal fungi coexist, even in tropical ecosystems, if host plants with high affinity for mycorrhization are present (Neuenkamp et al. 2018).