Beneath the Pavement: Understanding mycorrhizal fungi in urban ecosystems and the path forward

This is a Preprint and has not been peer reviewed. This is version 1 of this Preprint. You must log in to post a comment. There are no comments or no comments have been made public for this article. This is a Preprint and has not been peer reviewed. This is version 1 of this Preprint. Add a Comment You must log in to post a comment. Comments There are no comments or no comments have been made public for this article. Urban expansion is reshaping ecosystems worldwide, yet the responses of mycorrhizal fungi—key mediators of plant–soil interactions—remain poorly understood. In this review, we synthesize current knowledge on the environmental and ecological factors shaping mycorrhizal fungal diversity, distribution, and function in cities. We highlight how greenspace and landscape features—including plant community composition, site size and connectivity, and soil properties—interact with fungal dispersal limitations to structure communities under urban-specific stressors. Our synthesis identifies critical knowledge gaps. Research is geographically biased toward temperate, northern cities and often overlooks seasonal dynamics, constraining understanding of urban mycorrhizal ecology across climates and cultural contexts. Ectomycorrhizal fungi are particularly sensitive to habitat loss and fragmentation, emphasizing that maintaining large, connected greenspaces is crucial for conserving their diversity and ecosystem contributions. Socio-cultural influences on urban fungal communities remain largely unexplored, and experimental, trait-based, and molecular approaches are underutilized. We propose interdisciplinary research directions that link fungal ecology with urban planning and community engagement. By framing cities as coupled human–natural systems, this review provides a framework for integrating mycorrhizal fungi into urban biodiversity, ecosystem service, and public health agendas. Such integration can guide the design of resilient, biodiverse, and health-promoting greenspaces, while fostering local stewardship and inclusive decision-making. https://doi.org/10.32942/X2H07X Biodiversity, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Life Sciences, Environmental Studies, Human Ecology, Life Sciences, Microbiology, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Urban Studies and Planning Mycorrhizal fungi, Plant-soil interactions, Socio-ecological processes, urban ecology, Urban resilience Published: 2025-11-03 09:13 Last Updated: 2025-11-03 09:13 CC BY Attribution 4.0 International Data and Code Availability Statement: Data used in this study are derived from resources in the public domain. A list of all studies compiled along with citations are available in SI Table 1. Language: English