Fig. 3.20 Relationship between soil pH (KCl), sclerotia abundance (by density, mg/g of soil), and
mesofauna fungivory (by Shannon–Wiener diversity of ectomycorrhizal fungi identified in
mesofauna). As soil pH decreases, sclerotia abundance increases, and the fungivory by Acari and
Collembola is optimum in areas with moderate soil pH (Amasya 2015)
Fig. 3.21 Theoretical model of sclerotia formation and abundance as influenced by mesofaunal
fungivory and soil acidity. The area between pH decrease, sclerotia increase, and peak mesofaunal
fungivory represents conditions under which ectomycorrhizae availability is optimum for
mesofaunal fungivory (Amasya 2015)
3 Relationships Between Soil Mesofauna, Ectomycorrhizal Fungi, and Sclerotia in. . .
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