Fungal networks: How to survice draught

The desiccation of upper soil horizons is a common phenomenon, leading to a decrease in soil microbial activity and mineralization. Fungal communities are known to be less sensitive and better adapted to soil desiccation than bacterial-based food webs - in a recent study in PNAS Alexander Guhr and colleagues from the Soil Ecology at the University of Bayreuth demonstrate a reason: fungi are able to redistribute water by their widespread mycelia networks, which also enhances carbon mineralization.