About Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi:
- These are groups of root obligate biotrophs belonging to the phylum Glomeromycota.
- These are soil-borne microorganisms form symbiotic associations with approximately with 80% of terrestrial vascular plants.
- Structure: These are made up of tiny branching threads called hyphae.
- These hyphal networks form two-way pipes to channel nutrients and carbon to and from plants.
- Grassland ecosystems like those in South Sudan, the Tibetan plateau, and India’s Banni grasslands house 40% of the world’s AM fungal networks.
- It networks also weigh around 300 million tonnes of carbon, which is four- to six-times the weight of the entire human population.
- Ecological Role:
- They are considered natural biofertilizers which provide the host with water, nutrients, and pathogen protection.
- They provide nutrients and water in exchange for the carbon produced by the plants, and helps to regulate the climate by drawing carbon into soils.
- It formed symbiotic relationships with 70% of plant species, trading nutrients for carbon and sequesters an estimated 4 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent a year.
