Concepts

Fungal symbionts that form specialized structures (arbuscules, vesicles) within plant root cells and are important for nutrient exchange

A group of fungal endophytes characterized by dark-pigmented, septate hyphae that commonly colonize plant roots and can increase under environmental stress

A measure of the evolutionary history represented in an ecological community, calculated as the sum of branch lengths connecting species in a phylogenetic tree

Distribution of metabolic rates over individuals in a community, obtained by summing over abundance

Plot showing cumulative number of species discovered as a function of sampling effort, used to assess sampling completeness

Activity of enzymes secreted by soil microorganisms that catalyze decomposition of organic matter and provide assimilable carbon and nitrogen compounds

Total amount of living microbial tissue in soil measured as carbon and nitrogen content

Percentage of leaf area affected by pathogen symptoms including powdery mildew, rust, and other fungal diseases

A dating technique that uses the measured diameters of lichen thalli to estimate the age of rock surfaces

Standardized method for observing and counting birds at fixed locations for specified time periods

Distinct layers in soil profile with different physical and chemical properties

The rate at which temperature decreases with elevation, typically expressed as degrees Celsius per kilometer