The Potential of Mycorrhizal Fungi to Increase Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon Sink: a Review

• Published in: Eurasian soil science 2023-11, Vol.56 (11), p.1724-1738
• Main Authors: Xue He, Wang, Wei, Wang, Xiaohui, Zhang, Bo, Shi, Feng, Kurakov, A. V., Song, Fuqiang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arbuscular mycorrhizas; Atmospheric carbon dioxide; Carbon content; Carbon dioxide; Carbon dioxide concentration; Carbon sequestration; Carbon sinks; Carbon sources; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Ectomycorrhizas; Electromagnetic fields; Environmental aspects; Fungi; Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences; Host plants; Microorganisms; Photosynthesis; Plants; Reviews; Soil Biology; Soil microorganisms; Soils; Symbionts; Terrestrial ecosystems; Terrestrial environments
• ISSN: 1064-2293; 1556-195X
• DOI: 10.1134/S1064229323601178

— Increasing terrestrial ecosystem carbon sink is an effective way to mitigate the rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentration and achieve the goal of “carbon neutrality”. Mycorrhizal fungi are beneficial microorganisms that can form symbiotic relationships with 90% of plants in terrestrial ecosystems, and the symbiont contributes significantly to soil and plant carbon sink. In the review, we take arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF), which are the most extensively studied currently, as the narrative objects, and discuss the carbon sink enhancement potential of mycorrhizal fungi from the following four aspects. The first, mycorrhizal fungi indirectly increase the plant carbon sink by promoting photosynthesis and increasing biomass in the host plant, and this advantage can be maintained even under stressful conditions. The second, the process of carbon source transportation between AMF-plant symbionts and EMF-plant symbionts is described in this paper. The third, review describes that mycorrhizal fungi contribute to soil carbon sink by increasing carbon input as well as decreasing carbon output. The fourth, we point out the shortcomings of the current study and provide a prospect for future research, with the aim to provide theoretical support for increasing terrestrial carbon sink.