Lowly mushrooms may be key to ecosystem survival in a warming world

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By Elizabeth Pennisi, Science Magazine. 

Excerpt: Fungi that decompose plant matter may keep ecosystems healthy, especially after drought. ...Across a wide variety of ecosystems, from grasslands to forests to deserts, the more species of decomposers, the more plant productivity stayed the same over time, Delgado-Baquerizo and colleagues report today in Nature Ecology & Evolution. Having a wide variety of decomposers and to a lesser extent, root fungi, also helped keep the vegetation growing even in dry spells, the authors found. This diversity might ensure that no matter how conditions change, some fungi will still be able to supply the plants above them with nutrients.…

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