Viral diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, known as arboviruses, pose a significant threat to human life and are a major burden on many health systems around the world. Currently, arbovirus control strategies rely on insecticides or vector source reduction and, in the absence of effective, accessible and affordable vaccines, mainly on symptomatic based, non-specific treatments. However, insecticides have the potential to interfere with non-target organisms, cause environmental toxicity and insecticide resistance reduces their effectiveness as a sustainable control method.
Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi are crucial in the functioning of most forest ecosystems. Increased understanding of ECM symbiosis has led to numerous advancements in environment protection and forestry. The ECM fungi are a diverse group, both phylogenetically and functionally. Research covering their community structure on distinct sites shows that the presence of certain taxa depends on particular stand traits, such as tree species and age structure.
In many tropical regions, such as New Caledonia, soil erosion from anthropogenic activities and subsequent ecological restoration are major issues that require detailed soil and vegetation data for the production of management plans. To determine if some plant species are more useful for stabilizing soil aggregates and thus reducing erodibility, we examined three species endemic to New Caledonia, and measured how root traits and associated mycorrhizas and fungi influenced Ferralsol aggregate stability (MWD).
