Plants collaborate with many micro-organisms in the rhizosphere to form mutualistic associations. One of the best examples is the mycorrhizal symbio sis between plants and fungi. Here, fungi support plants with mineral nutri ents and other services and the fungi, in turn, receive photosynthates from the autotrophic plants. Mycorrhizal associations are common in almost all eco systems and 80 % of all land plants associate with these mutualistic soil fungi. There is an increasing awareness among biologists, ecologists and mycolo gists that mycorrhizal associations need to be considered in order to under stand the ecology and evolution of plants, plant communities and ecosystems. In the last decade, many advances and breakthroughs have been made in mycorrhizal ecology. We aim to summarise these advances in this Volume, with special emphasis given to the ecological function of the mycorrhizal symbiosis. This Volume is divided into six sections. The first section gives an intro duction to the mycorrhizal symbiosis and discusses the progress that has been made in understanding the ecological function of this association. The second section deals with the eco-physiology of mycorrhizal plants. It also covers the influence of global changes on the symbiosis. The third section dis cusses the influences of mycorrhizal fungi on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. It also discusses factors that influence the diversity and structure of mycorrhizal fungal communities. The fourth section shows the multi trophic nature of the mycorrhizal symbiosis.
From the reviews:
"Taken together, this book offers a valuable state of the art overview about our knowledge on most aspects of mycorrhizal ecology. ... Everybody interested in mycorrhiza should not only have it in his/her bookshelf, but also read it thoroughly." (Journal of Plant Physiology)
From the reviews of the hardcover edition
"This book will be an important part of any mycorrhizal researcher's bookshelf." (Ecology)
"... all the chapters offer not only a good summary of the current research, but also the most exciting achievements and some new perspectives. ... to be recommended to everybody interested in mycorrhizal research." (Mycological Research)
"... a comprehensive and detailed account of ecological mycorrhizal aspects. ... This book at an advanced level on mycorrhizae is intended for a specialist audience of researchers and can be firmly recommended to these colleagues and to academic libraries which cover plant ecology." (Journal of Phytopathology)
"... the editors should be congratulated for bringing together an excellent selection of informative and well-written chapters." (Mycologist)
"This book offers a valuable state of the art overview about our knowledge on most aspects of mycorrhizal ecology. ? Everybody interested in mycorrhiza should not only have it in his/her bookshelf, but also read it thoroughly." (Rüdiger Hampp, Journal of Plant Physiology, Vol. 161, 2004)
"Marcel van der Heijden and Ian Sanders have assembled a collection of varied and interesting contributions from 36 (mostly) mycorrhizal ecologists. ? there's still a long way to go before mycorrhizal fungi are routinely included in ecological investigations. Perhaps this book can contribute to making that happen. ? For those with a keen interest in mycorrhizas or plant or fungal ecology, this is must reading." (Steve Trudell, The Mycophile, Vol. 44 (5), 2003)
