Underground Explorers

Our project aims at sampling the fungal and mycorrhizal diversity in the foothills of the Andes in Argentina, where dry and shrubby vegetation occur – the Monte. With our team, including landscape ecologists, mycorrhizal experts, and students, we will target patches of Monte from Mendoza to the North of Argentina. Interestingly, these patches surround the viticultural regions of Argentina, and start to be considered as a major niche for biodiversity at a landscape level, becoming a pillar of sustainable agriculture. The Monte is also a habitat where many medicinal plants occur, and where local communities already care for plants and soils. We will discuss the sampling and results with local communities and winemakers to reinforce soil conservation, in the Monte and their landscape, and learn more about the high diversity of AMF already observed from our preliminary results. We expect to find a higher diversity closer to the Andes, where landscapes are more continuous. We also expect to learn about the traditional relationship to soil conservation in the Andes, and its potential impact on fungal diversity. This project will add crucial data to maps of fungal diversity in Argentina, targeting the driest habitats where underground fungi have so far never been explored.