Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Forests, very important and complex ecosystems, depend on tree-microbial associations above and below ground. Understanding molecular mechanisms of associations between trees and fungi in forests requires a novel, community-driven, multi-disciplinary approach based on genomics and ecological data and tools. Here we propose a three-way approach to strengthen collaboration between our institutions, LBNL and INRA, and with a larger scientific community on exploration of associations between trees and fungi in forests to create a basis for understanding forest ecology and management strategies.