| dc.description.abstract | ABSTRACT
The dynamics of plant-microbiome interactions under different stress conditions are important to understand in order to elucidate the mechanisms underlying forest decline and tree mortality. This study aims to evaluate the importance of ectomycorrhizal fungi in alleviating stress and enhancing defense in Pinus and Picea species. A meta-analysis was performed on primary research articles that assessed effects of ectomycorrhizal fungal on growth and resistance of these tree species. The stress factors studied were drought, pathogen infection, herbivory and pollutant stress. A PRISMA systematic review guideline was used in screening the articles from the two databases Web of Science and SCOPUS. The search produced a total of 1 806 articles, which were further screened by excluding review articles, book chapters, conference papers and other papers that did not include Pinus or Picea species and ectomycorrhizal fungi. A total of 118 articles were assessed and the statistical analysis was conducted as per factor (growth, survival, biotic and abiotic stress). Most of the published articles were on Pinus and a few on Picea. Overall, ectomycorrhizal fungi were found to enhance growth but had no effect on survival, though the results are more confined to Pinus species. Ectomycorrhizal fungi were not effective in alleviating abiotic and biotic stress. There was high heterogeneity among papers and publication bias in the analysis. As a result my analysis did not provide a concrete conclusion in endorsing ectomycorrhizal fungi as promoting conifer growth, survival and resistance to biotic and abiotic stress. Further research is needed on conifer- soil feedbacks in relation to ectomycorrhizal fungi. Moreover, there is need for conducting more experiments in the field to enable the life strategies of ectomycorrhizal fungi to be brought into sharper focus. This is important because conifer species are of high economic value through producing high quality timber and plays a crucial role in mitigating climate change.
Key words: Ectomycorrhizal fungi, Pinus, Picea, heterogeneity, publication bias, growth, survival, biotic and abiotic. | |
