Understanding the mechanisms of mycorrhizal suppression of nitrous oxide emission - an integrated approach

Background: An underexplored benefit of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) is the potential to reduce emissions of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O)1, with a recent meta-analysis concluding that this phenomenon is consistent2. The mechanism remains obscure, but it is established that AMF drive alteration in soil communities both in general3 and specifically in relation to nitrogen cycling1,4. This leads to a number of hypotheses relating to mechanisms linking shifting communities and emission reduction, a key goal in the Net Zero agenda.