Prof. Leho Tedersoo, University of Tartu, Estonia
About Prof. Leho Tedersoo. Mycologist and soil ecologists at the University of Tartu, Estonia. PhD in 2007 on ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity in various ecosystems, followed by PostDoc studies on African ectomycorrhizal fungi; Research Professor since 2018. He is a principal investigator of the global soil fungal diversity initiative.
Topic of the plenary talk: Trends in African soil fungal communities
Author: Leho Tedersoo
Abstract of the talk: Research on soil-inhabiting saprotrophic and mycorrhizal fungi has been sporadic in Africa. Only a few studies have put African fungi into a global context. Here I provide an overview about specialities of mycobiota across the African continent. Published and ongoing studies indicate that much of the tropical West Africa and East Africa including Madagascar share the species of saprotrophic and ectomycorrhizal fungi, whereas North Africa and South Africa have distinct fungal communities. Much of this can be related to the dominant vegetation and the lack of native ectomycorrhizal host trees in South Africa.
Key words: saprotrophic fungi, ectomycorrhiza, arbuscular mycorrhiza