Review Tansley review Ectomycorrhizal associations in the tropics – biogeography, diversity patterns and ecosystem roles Author for correspondence: Adriana Corrales1, Terry W. Henkel2 and Matthew E. Smith1 Adriana Corrales 1 2 Tel: +57 3022885147 Department of Plant Pathology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, Humboldt Email:
[email protected] State University, Arcata, CA 95521, USA Received: 1 December 2017 Accepted: 20 February 2018 Contents Summary 1076 VI. Beta diversity patterns in tropical ECM fungal communities 1082 I. Introduction 1076 VII. Conclusions and future research 1086 II. Historical overview 1077 Acknowledgements 1087 III. Identities and distributions of tropical ectomycorrhizal plants 1077 References 1087 IV. Dominance of tropical forests by ECM trees 1078 V. Biogeography of tropical ECM fungi 1081 Summary New Phytologist (2018) 220: 1076–1091 Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) associations were historically considered rare or absent from tropical doi: 10.1111/nph.15151 ecosystems. Although most tropical forests are dominated by arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) trees, ECM associations are widespread and found in all tropical regions. Here, we highlight emerging Key words: altitudinal gradients, patterns of ECM biogeography, diversity and ecosystem functions, identify knowledge gaps, Dipterocarpaceae, Fabaceae, fungal diversity, and offer direction for future research. At the continental and regional scales, tropical ECM monodominance, nitrogen cycling, tropical systems are highly diverse and vary widely in ECM plant and fungal abundance, diversity, forest. composition and phylogenetic affinities. We found strong regional differences among the dominant host plant families, suggesting that biogeographical factors strongly influence tropical ECM symbioses. Both ECM plants and fungi also exhibit strong turnover along altitudinal and soil fertility gradients, suggesting niche differentiation among taxa.