Over the last thirteen years, Dr N Barsoum (Forest Research) and Dr M Bidartondo (Imperial College London) have worked collaboratively to raise research funds which have resulted in a succession of related PhD and post-doctoral ectomycorrhizae (ECM) research projects pursued in 137 Level II plots in 20 countries across Europe. By applying directly comparable sampling regimes and species identification methods, one important outcome of the combined research effort is the establishment of a valuable baseline dataset of the ECM communities associated with the following timber species in Europe: Scots pine, oak (pedunculate and sessile), beech and Norway spruce. This research is also building an understanding of the key variables that influence the ECM communities in European woodlands dominated by these tree species.

This article is made available with the permission of ConFor.  It is also available on the ConFor website.

Barsoum, N. (2018) Getting to know the ‘friendly fungi’ associated with the roots of key timber species. Forestry and Timber News (October)56-57.