.Here, we prioritize eight inter-related research avenues,
ordered from higher to lower resolution. (i) Combine continuous
high-resolution dendrometer measurements of cell
formation and sap flow with mushroom fruiting body
observations and mycelial growth patterns to quantify
linkages between the phenology and net primary productivity
of mycorrhizal fungi webs and their host plants. (ii)
Apply isotopic labeling to trace symbiotic carbon, nutrient
and water (host–fungus/fungus–host) pathways and fluxes
for different species, environments, and climates, to understand
better the continuum between plant growth and
ectomycorrhizal fungus energy capture and partition. (iii)
Perform field and greenhouse experiments with model
host–fungus pairings to quantify the weight abiotic factors
may have in the reciprocal transfer of nutrients, phosphorus,
water, and carbon in order to predict environmental
effects on symbiosis functioning. (iv) Utilize the advent of
bioinformatic sensor technologies, such as metagenomic
and/or metatranscriptomic analyses or biochemical assays
to gauge below-ground functional hyphal activity and compare
these data with intra-annual tree-ring patterns. (v)
Develop chronologies of different tree-ring and wood anatomical parameters to reconstruct impacts of forest
management on fungal phenology and productivity, including
the assessment of truffle orchards in drought-prone
Mediterranean habitats. (vi) Test if increased photosynthesis
(in tandem with increased vegetation growth) fosters
carbon sequestration in ectomycorrhizal ecosystems,
such as the boreal zone, or whether better carbohydrates
access to ectomycorrhizal fungi improves their competitive
ability above saprotrophic species, which will tentatively
lead to higher carbon accumulation rates. (vii) Relate longterm
mushroom monitoring inventories to tree-ring chronologies
and meteorological records to analyze direct and
indirect climatic drivers of the productivity and phenology
of fruit body production, even involving ascomycetes
(Figure 1). Extend crossdisciplinary approaches to
the vast number of perennial tree and shrub species symbiotic
with ectomycorrhizal fungi, and utilize this new
perspective to help parameterize and validate the next
generation of general ecosystem models .