Although plant–mycorrhizal fungi associations play critical roles in maintaining species diversity within forest communities, the influence of tree ontogeny in mediating these effects on species diver

The gap

Consensus across the literature

Supporting evidence — 3 representative gaps

• Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi enhance plant phosphorus uptake through stimulating hyphosphere soil microbiome functional profiles for phosphorus turnover (2023) · doi

  Summary The extraradical hyphae of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are colonized by different bacteria in natural and agricultural systems, but the mechanisms by which AM fungi interact with the hyphosphere soil microbiome and influence soil organic phosphorus (P) mobilization remain unclear.

  Keywords: fungi soil summary extraradical hyphae arbuscular mycorrhizal colonized different bacteria natural agricultural systems mechanisms interact
• High nitrogen deposition is associated with phosphorus-efficient ectomycorrhizas in Europe's Scots pine forests (2026) · doi

  Atmospheric inorganic nitrogen (N) deposition has been linked to increased tree phosphorus (P) deficiency and shifts in ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal community composition across Europe, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood due to the scarcity of species-level studies of fungal physiology at large spatial scales.

  Keywords: fungal atmospheric inorganic nitrogen deposition linked increased tree phosphorus deficiency shifts ectomycorrhizal community composition across
• Ontogenetic Shifts in Mycorrhiza-Mediated Neighborhood Effects Among Multi-Stemmed Species in a Subtropical Forest (2026) · doi

  Although plant–mycorrhizal fungi associations play critical roles in maintaining species diversity within forest communities, the influence of tree ontogeny in mediating these effects on species diversity remains poorly understood.

  Keywords: species diversity plant mycorrhizal fungi associations play critical roles maintaining within forest communities influence tree