by Matteo Cavallito<\/p>\n
It only takes a few decades of higher temperatures to alter the relationship between plants and microbial systems<\/strong>, thereby disrupting carbon and nutrient cycles. Fungi<\/strong> in particular are deeply affected, as their population composition changes, with significant consequences for the soil. This is according to a study<\/a> published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.<\/p>\n \u201cHidden mycorrhizal fungi below ground are much more vulnerable to warming winters than we expected before,\u201d Stephanie Kivlin<\/strong>, a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Tennessee and co-author of the study, explained in a statement<\/a>. \u201cThe timing of their growth is disrupted by warmer winters, and they can\u2019t form the beneficial symbioses<\/strong> that currently occur. We now have evidence that the mycorrhizal fungi never recover from warmer winters and will decline in many temperate ecosystems.\u201d<\/p>\n