Meike Katharina Heuck

Friends with benefits or frenemies: The role of soil biota in shaping plant responses YouTube video by University of Southern Queensland

Here goes a bit of shameless self-promotion:
If you missed my National Science Week online webinar, it is now available via YouTube.

Friends with benefits or frenemies: The role of soil biota in shaping plant responses.

youtu.be/B_hnTfg10TM?...

AusAMF: The Database of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Communities in Australia Motivation Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are central to plant nutrient acquisition, soil carbon dynamics, and ecosystem resilience. Yet, their biogeography remains incompletely characterised, pa...

The database of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in Australia is out!

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

You can access data summaries via the website www.ausamf.com

We have data from 610 sites with data from another 500 locations to be added by the end of the year!

Thanks to all collaborators

Mycorrhizal networks: Understanding hidden complexity Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

It’s alive! Our Mycorrhizal Networks special issue is out in Functional Ecology.
Packed with spore-tacular science.

A collection that highlights advances, identifies unresolved questions & the future research directions.

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Thresholds of functional trait diversity driven by land use intensification - Nature Ecology & Evolution Land use intensification is a major driver of biodiversity change and ecosystem functioning. Here the authors identify thresholds of grassland plant community structure and stability in response to la...

Our new paper is out to day in Nature Ecology and Evolution!

It is called: Thresholds of functional trait diversity driven by land use intensification

⬇️
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#FunctionalTraits 🌐 ➕📏

@inrae-france.bsky.social @urep.bsky.social @cnrsecologie.bsky.social @bexplo.bsky.social

It was a great opportunity to present at #EGU25.

Thanks to @loutsi.bsky.social, @plantsoilemily.bsky.social, Tessa Camenzind and the other co-conveners for organising such a nice session!

Vienna calling & excited to attend #EGU25!

If you are interested how seasonality and climate change alter AM fungal responses under different grassland management types, come and see my talk today at 5:20pm in room 0.96/97🍄🌱.

Urbanization alters fungal functional composition in boreal ecosystems by favoring larger-spore fungi & pathogenic fungi Carlos A. Aguilar-Trigueros, Otso Ovaskainen, Nerea Abrego. This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology article which can be found here. We live in a rapidly urbanizing world where cit…

📰Published📰 Urbanization alters fungal functional composition in boreal ecosystems by favoring larger-spore fungi & pathogenic fungi 🍄

buff.ly/KN7pOPc

🧪🌍

Protect US racial affinity groups On its first day, the Trump administration released several executive orders terminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, calling them “illegal,” “immoral,” and “discriminatory” (1, 2)...

Racial affinity groups are under attack. Now is the time to redouble our commitments to these vital organizations that make science better for all. Proud to pen this letter with @khadlily.bsky.social and many @wocineeb.bsky.social colleagues

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Boost Development of an Invasive Brassicaceae We show that an invasive, “nonmycorrhizal” Brassicaceae (Alliaria petiolata) can be colonised by AMF, and that this boosts its growth and nutrition even in the absence of classic nutrient exchange ...

Most surprising discover of my career to date 😲. Most assume mustard plants do not associate w/ AMF. Our research shows that AMF promote invasive mustard growth without forming arbuscules 🤯. This may be a new pathway in which AMF can enhance plant growth 🍄🌱

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Western Sydney University PhD scholarship round is now open
[Australian & New Zealand citizens|residents only]

If you are interested in doing a PhD on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, fungal ecology & related topics then get in touch with me.
www.westernsydney.edu.au/schools/grs/...

A curated soil fungal dataset to advance fungal ecology and conservation research in Australia and Antarctica Scientific Data - A curated soil fungal dataset to advance fungal ecology and conservation research in Australia and Antarctica

How do you study invisible organisms, such as fungi, from the environment?

We provide a benchmarked meta-barcoding dataset for soil fungi in Australia and Antarctica, combined with +100 predictor variables to fast-track data exploration, research and conservation.

rdcu.be/ebCeu

A travelling-wave strategy for plant-fungal trade. An image of a microscopic view of fungi. Nature logo.

Our newest research on plant-fungal trade published today in @nature.com.

The work, led by scientists from Vrije Universiteit, Princeton University, SPUN & AMOLF combines robotics, mycology & biophysics to reveal underground supply-chain dynamics.

Open access:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Enhancing consistency in arbuscular mycorrhizal trait-based research to improve predictions of function - Mycorrhiza Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi (phylum Glomeromycota) are obligate symbionts with plants influencing plant health, soil a(biotic) processes, and ecosystem functioning. Despite advancements in molec...

I’m very happy to share our latest paper on arbuscular mycorrhizal traits. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

I'd love to be included as well, if possible.

Organic farming helps to protect beneficial soil fungi but some less helpful fungi still persist Meike Katharina Heuck, Jeff R. Powell, Jarrod Kath, Christina Birnbaum, Adam Frew This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Arbuscular mycor…

📰Published📰 Organic farming helps to protect beneficial soil fungi but some less helpful fungi still persist

https://buff.ly/424oqPB

🧪🌍

Organic management shapes AM fungal community structure and function, partially mitigating the negative effects of conventional agriculture Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Are you curious how different agricultural management practices shape AM fungal community structure and function?🍄🌱

Check out our new article in @funecology.bsky.social!

Together with @frewecologist.bsky.social , @christinabirnbaum.bsky.social , Jeff Powell & Jarrod Kath

doi.org/10.1111/1365...

Evaluating the Usefulness of the C‐S‐R Framework for Understanding AM Fungal Responses to Climate Change in Agroecosystems Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi play a key role in terrestrial ecosystems. However, critical gaps in understanding AM fungal ecology still limit predictions of their responses to global change in a...

New paper out in Global Change Biology, led by PhD student Meike Heuck, examining if current life history strategy frameworks used for AM fungi are at all useful in agro settings under climate change.

doi.org/10.1111/gcb....