According to a recent study, microbial stress can actually benefit young trees. This discovery could prove useful in large-scale tree planting efforts, as it could increase the chances of saplings surviving in the long term. Ian Sanders, a plant and fungal ecologist at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, explains that “If you can control which microbes are put onto tree saplings in a nursery, you can probably help to determine whether they’re going to survive or not when they’re transplanted to the field.”
As global temperatures continue to rise due to climate change, many species must adapt to new conditions or migrate to new areas. However, trees are unable to keep up with the pace of current climate change due to their slow evolution and immobility. Richard Lankau, a forest ecologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, explains that trees have close relationships with fast-adapting soil microbes, including fungi, which can help them survive stressful conditions.
2023-05-25 13:01:40
Link from www.sciencenews.org