Toward harnessing biodiversity–ecosystem function relationships in fungi

As biodiversity declines and fungi are affected, understanding how fungal diversity shapes ecosystem function is more urgent than ever.Despite extensive research, our understanding of fungal biodiversity and ecosystem function (BEF) relationships remains limited, with significant research deficiencies even in well-studied areas.These include the range of studied fungal guilds and their simultaneous functions, the generalizability across different environmental conditions, and understanding of the effects of community assembly mechanisms on fungal BEF relationships.Some of these issues can be tackled by refining study methods, while others require further integration across different research fields and traditions, such as those focused on various fungal guilds and their functions. Fungi are crucial for terrestrial ecosystems, yet the role of fungal diversity in ecosystem functions remains unclear. We synthesize fungal biodiversity and ecosystem function (BEF) relationships, focusing on plant biomass production, carbon storage, decomposition, and pathogen or parasite resistance. The observed BEF relationships for these ecosystem functions vary in strength and direction, complicating generalizations. Strong positive relationships are generally observed when multiple ecosystem functions are addressed simultaneously. Often, fungal community composition outperforms species richness in predicting ecosystem functions. For more comprehensive fungal BEF research, we recommend studying natural communities, considering the simultaneous functions of a broader array of fungal guilds across spatiotemporal scales, and integrating community assembly concepts into BEF research. For this, we propose a conceptual framework and testable hypotheses. Fungi are crucial for terrestrial ecosystems, yet the role of fungal diversity in ecosystem functions remains unclear. We synthesize fungal biodiversity and ecosystem function (BEF) relationships, focusing on plant biomass production, carbon storage, decomposition, and pathogen or parasite resistance. The observed BEF relationships for these ecosystem functions vary in strength and direction, complicating generalizations. Strong positive relationships are generally observed when multiple ecosystem functions are addressed simultaneously. Often, fungal community composition outperforms species richness in predicting ecosystem functions. For more comprehensive fungal BEF research, we recommend studying natural communities, considering