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Summary: Functional Ecology 2008, 22, 955963 doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2008.01402.x
© 2008 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2008 British Ecological Society
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
BELOWGROUND RESPONSES TO CLIMATE CHANGE
Decomposers in disguise: mycorrhizal fungi as
regulators of soil C dynamics in ecosystems under
global change
J. M. Talbot*1,2
, S. D. Allison1,2
and K. K. Treseder1,2
1
Departments of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; 2
and Earth System Science, University of California Irvine, 321
Steinhaus Hall, Irvine, CA 92617-2525, USA
Summary
1. In the conventional view of soil carbon (C) cycling, mycorrhizal fungi are primarily considered
vectors for plant C input to soils. However, there is accumulating evidence that mycorrhizal fungi
may also contribute to the direct loss of soil C by acting as decomposers, that is by producing extra-
cellular lytic enzymes and metabolizing soil C.
2. Most of the evidence that mycorrhizal fungi can act as decomposers comes from studies of ericoid
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