A new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change is warning of the potential disruption of age-old partnerships between aspen trees and their mutualistic fungi partners. As climate change continues to increase the frequency and duration of drought, the study’s authors suggest that these important relationships could be disrupted, leading to a decrease in aspen tree growth and a decrease in the carbon stored in these trees. This could have serious implications for the global carbon cycle, as aspen trees are among the most abundant trees in the Northern Hemisphere and store large amounts of carbon in their trunks and branches. The study’s authors suggest that it is important to understand how changes in climate may affect these important partnerships in order to manage and protect them in the future.

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source: Phys.org