An Insight into Fungi in Forest Ecosystems: Diversity, Interactions and Uses

A fungus is a eukaryotic and heterotrophic organism that depends on other organisms for its food. Fungi digest food outwardly and absorb food directly through their cell walls. Fungi reproduce both asexually and sexually in which the vegetative body of the fungi consists of mycelium (Group of hyphae). These organisms differ in their mode of nutrition, which are saprophytic obtaining food from dead plants and animals whereas some fungi absorb nutrients from living animals and plants called biotrophs. Necrotrophs live on the living host at some point in time by killing the host and obtain nutrients. Fungi are not a primitive group of an organism in fact they are more closely related to animals than plants. Fungi play a different role in forest ecosystems mainly they help in breaking down the complex food materials and nutrient recycling and keep the forest ecosystem healthy. In a forest ecosystem, fungi act as decomposers, recyclers, parasites, and symbionts. Mycorrhiza propels phosphorus solubilisation, mushrooms grow on rotting wood to break down and release energy and utilize it. Fungi are indispensable for the recycling of nutrients in all ecological habitats/ecosystems because of their decomposing capability of complex plant components such as cellulose and lignin. Apart from these roles, fungi exist as epiphytic, endophytic, and pathogenic. Endophytic fungi establish inside the forest trees and help in producing secondary metabolites which are useful to mankind and help the host plants overcome insect, pest, and pathogenic attacks. The presence of endophytic fungi in forest trees helps to overcome different abiotic stress. The pathogenic fungi cause serious diseases to forest trees and play an important role in forest dynamics.KeywordsFungiHeterotrophicForest ecosystemForest dynamicsForest managementForest economy