The Fungal Community: Its Organization and Role in the Ecosystem, Third Edition addresses many of the questions related to the observations, characterizations, and functional attributes of fungal assemblages and their interaction with the environment and other organisms. This edition promotes awareness of the functional methods of classification over taxonomic methods, and approaches the concept of fungal communities from an ecological perspective, rather than from a fungicentric view. It has expanded to examine issues of global and local biodiversity, the problems associated with exotic species, and the debate concerning diversity and function. The third edition also focuses on current ecological discussions - diversity and function, scaling issues, disturbance, and invasive species - from a fungal perspective. In order to address these concepts, the book examines the appropriate techniques to identify fungi, calculate their abundance, determine their associations among themselves and other organisms, and measure their individual and community function. This book explains attempts to scale these measures from the microscopic cell level through local, landscape, and ecosystem levels. The totality of the ideas, methods, and results presented by the contributing authors points to the future direction of mycology.

Table of Contents:
Introduction, J. Dighton, J.F. White, Jr., and P. Oudemans STRUCTURE OF FUNGAL COMMUNITIES Linking Function between Scales of Resolution, S.J. Morris and G.P. Robertson Fungal Communities: Their Diversity and Distribution, D.L. Hawksworth and G.M. Mueller Freshwater Fungal Communities, F. Bärlocher Marine Fungal Communities, T. Kis-Papo Tropical Fungi, K.D. Hyde, L. Cai, and R. Jeewon Lichens and Microfungi in Biological Soil Crusts: Community Structure, Physiology, and Ecological Functions, J. Belnap and O.L. Lange Mycorrhizal Fungi in Successional Environments: A Community Assembly Model Incorporating Host Plant, Environmental, and Biotic Filters, A. Jumpponen and L.M. Egerton-Warburton Fungal Communities: Relation to Resource Succession, J.-F. Ponge Emerging Perspectives on the Ecological Roles of Endophytic Fungi in Tropical Plants, S.A. Van Bael, Z. Maynard, E. Rojas, L.C. Mejia, D.A. Kyllo, and E.A. Herre, N. Robbins, J.F. Bischoff, and A.E. Arnold Classical Methods and Modern Analysis for Studying Fungal Diversity, J.P. Schmit and D.J. Lodge Fungal Diversity in Molecular Terms: Profiling, Identification, and Quantification in the Environment, M.I. Bidartondo and M. Gardes Analytical and Experimental Methods for Estimating Population Genetic Structure of Fungi, J. Zhan and B.A. McDonald Interspecific Interaction Terminology: From Mycology to General Ecology, A.R. Tuininga FUNCTION OF FUNGAL COMMUNITIES Fungal Activity as Determined by Microscale Methods with Special Emphasis on Interactions with Heavy Metals, K. Turnau and I. Kottke Exploring Fungal Activity with Confocal and Multiphoton Microscopy, K.J. Czymmek Enzymatic Activities of Mycelia in Mycorrhizal Fungal Communities, B.D. Lindahl, R.D. Finlay, and J.W.G. Cairney Fungal Enzymes at the Community Scale, R.L. Sinsabaugh Using Isotopic Tracers to Follow Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling of Fungi, E.A. Hobbie Diversity-Functioning Relationships in Ectomycorrhizal Fungal Communities, J.W. Baxter and J. Dighton Fungi, Bacteria, and Viruses as Pathogens of the Fungal Community, D.Y. Kobayashi and B.I. Hillman Fungal Endophytes in Terrestrial Communities and Ecosystems, J.A. Rudgers and K. Clay Mechanisms of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Mediation of Plant-Plant Interactions, J.D. Bever and P.A. Schultz Impacts of Plant Pathogenic Fungi on Plant Communities, E.M. Hansen and J.K. Stone The Epichloë Endophytes of Grasses and the Symbiotic Continuum, C.L. Schardl and A. Leuchtmann Evolutionary Development of the Clavicipitaceae, J.F. Bischoff and J.F. White, Jr. Ecological Fitness Factors for Fungi within the Balansieae and Clavicipiteae, C.W. Bacon and P. Lyons Fungal Communities of Seaweeds, A. Zuccaro and J.I. Mitchell Trophic Interactions of Fungi and Animals, L. Ruess and J. Lussenhop Sporocarp Mycophagy: Nutritional, Behavioral, Evolutionary, and Physiological Aspects, A.W. Claridge and J. M. Trappe Hypogeous Fungi: Evolution of Reproductive and Dispersal Strategies through Interactions with Animals and Mycorrhizal Plants, J.M. Trappe and A.W. Claridge HUMAN IMPACTS ON FUNGAL COMMUNITIES AND THEIR FUNCTION Human Impacts on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: An Overview, M.J. Swift Oligotrophic Growth of Fungi, M. Wainwright Fungal Communities of Desert Ecosystems: Links to Climate Change, John Zak Symbiotic Lifestyle Expression by Fungal Endophytes and the Adaptation of Plants to Stress: Unraveling the Complexities of Intimacy, R.J. Rodriguez, R.S. Redman, and J.M. Henson Biological Soil Crusts and Global Changes: What Does the Future Hold? J. Belnap and O.L. Lange Nutrient Acquisition Strategies of Fungi and Their Relation to Elevated Atmospheric CO2, K.K. Treseder Toxic Metals and Fungal Communities, M. Fomina, E.P. Burford, and G. M. Gadd Radionuclides and Fungal Communities, N.N. Zhdanova, V.A. Zakharchenko, and K. Haselwandter How Do Composition, Structure, and Function of Mycorrhizal Fungal Communities Respond to Nitrogen Deposition and Ozone Exposure? E.A. Lilleskov Micromycete Associations in the Rhizosphere of Steppe and Agrophytocenose Plants, E. Golovko and N. Ellanska Fungal Communities of Agroecosystems, M.E. Stromberger Effects of Forest Management on Fungal Communities, D.M. Durall, M.D. Jones, and K.J. Lewis Exotic Species and Fungi: Interactions with Fungal, Plant, and Animal Communities, D.M. Rizzo PRESERVING FUNGAL COMMUNITIES Fungal Conservation: Some Impressions - A Personal View, R. Watling