Functional Diversity of Mycorrhiza and Sustainable Agriculture

Michael Goss is a soil scientist and worked for over 20 years in the UK (Letcombe Laboratory, Rothamsted Research and the James Hutton Research Institute), collaborating with colleagues in France, Germany, Portugal and Australia. In 1990 he joined University of Guelph, Canada, as Research Chair in Land Stewardship and is Professor Emeritus in the School of Environmental Sciences. Michael is an Honorary Member and Fellow of the British Society of Soil Science. He was Editor-in-Chief of ‘Soil Use and Management’ and part of the editorial team for 10 years until 2019. He has written over 175 academic papers, edited two books and co-written a University-level textbook (2 editions) on water in plant production and a book on the management of arbuscular mycorrhizas. Professor Mário Carvalho’s research interests are related to different aspects of low input cropping systems; tillage systems, crop rotation, integrated weed control and nutrient management. In addition he has developed a very close contact with producers over the past 30 years, establishing a solid scientific and practical knowledge of cropping system management under conservation agriculture. More recently his focus has been on the use of symbioses, specifically arbuscular micorrhiza and rhizobia, in bio-protection of cultivated plants within the cropping systems. Dr. Isabel Brito’s research field is the management of native arbuscular mycorrhizas in low input cropping systems, particularly in Mediterranean regions. Key areas of study are the effects of common agronomic practices (weed control, tillage system and crop rotation) on AMF diversity and AM colonization of small grain crops. More recently she has focused on developing strategies to manage indigenous AMF within cropping systems for the bio-protection of cultivated plants.

• 1. Introduction2. Agronomic opportunities to modify soil conditions considered supportive of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi3. The roles of mycorrhizas and current constraints to their intentional use in agriculture4. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AFM) biodiversity5. Interactions between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and other soil microbes in the rhizosphere and impacts on host plants6. The significance of the intact extraradical mycelium (ERM) in managing arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi7. New tools to investigate biological diversity8. Management of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi biological diversity within crooping systems