Kadri Koorem, Martin Zobel and Guillermo Bueno published a review paper in Functional Ecology in collaboration with the colleagues from the Landscape Ecology Group (Tsipe Aavik and Sabrina Träger) and the Catholic University of Leuven (Olivier Honnay and Maarten Van Geel).

The review explores the potential effects of simultaneously addressing host plant genetic diversity and supporting arbuscular mycorrhizal communities for maximising restoration success. The significance of these two biodiversity components separately in restoration has been well-recognized. However, understanding about the interacting effects of host plant genetic diversity and mycorrhizal communities on the recovery of wild plant populations is very scarce. To start shedding more light on this question, we offer a topic for a potential bachelor thesis. The thesis will give an overview of the intra-specific variation of host plants in relation to the interactions with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. The preparation of the thesis will be supervised by Kadri Koorem and Tsipe Aavik.

What do plant aboveground traits tell us about fine root traits? This is the question asked by group of researchers, including Guillermo Bueno, Mari Moora and Martin Zobel from Plant Ecology Lab, colleagues from the Macroecology Workgroup, Landscape biodiversity group, from Argentina and Canada. 

Results revealed that the aboveground parts of the plant and the fine roots are like different worlds. The set of features visible to us—leaves, stems, seeds—tells very little about fine roots, so that plants that are similar aboveground can have very different roots and vice versa. These exciting results inspired the illustratior Luis Gustavo Barretto and were published in the (cover of) Nature!

Congratulations to all of the authors for an amazing work! Looking forward to see where roots take you next!