Replanted landscapes can look restored while soil fungi still lag behind
With up to 75% of the world's soils degraded, restoration projects try to reestablish functional and biodiverse environments to secure adequate food production, biodiversity, climate regulation and human well-being.
Degraded soils cover up to 75% of the globe, making restoration projects crucial to secure food production, biodiversity, climate regulation and human well-being. Flinders University experts point out that restoring a complete set of key components, such as fungi, microbes and nutrients, can be a slow and challenging endeavor. While aboveground vegetation growth from native revegetation is noticeable, it does not guarantee improvements in the intricate network of soil fungi, microbes and other ecosystem elements essential for long-term, biodiverse and functional growth.
Recent research in Molecular Ecology reveals that soil fungal communities undergo varying rates of recovery following restoration plantings over a six-year span. Flinders University professor Martin Breed warns that restoring entire ecosystems requires continuous monitoring and management to track the long-term health of fungi and other critical soil properties.
The study found that ecological restoration often focuses on plant life, which yields tangible results, yet this improvement may not extend to the entire ecosystem.
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