Large old trees are some of the most iconic biota on earth and are integral parts of many
terrestrial ecosystems including those in tropical, temperate and boreal forests, deserts …

Background Seedling recruitment is essential to the sustainability of any plant population.
Due to the minute nature of seeds and early-stage seedlings, orchid germination in situ was …

Background As in most land plants, the roots of orchids (Orchidaceae) associate with soil
fungi. Recent studies have highlighted the diversity of the fungal partners involved, mostly …

Background Given the exceptional diversity of orchids (26 000+ species), improving
strategies for the conservation of orchids will benefit a vast number of taxa. Furthermore, with …

The distribution and abundance of orchid populations depend on a suite of biological and
ecological factors, including seed production and dispersal, availability of mycorrhizal fungi …

Threats to orchid survival continue to intensify, with> 50% of the orchids that have been
assessed for the IUCN Global Red List falling in to one of the categories of threat. Despite …

Biotic interactions are widely accepted as an important driver of ecological and evolutionary
patterns, contributing to the structure of systems as diverse as tropical tree seedlings …

Approximately 10% of vascular plants are epiphytes and, even though this has long been
ignored in past research, are able to interact with a variety of fungi, including mycorrhizal …

To ensure long-term survival of epiphytic orchids through active reintroduction, more
research on critical life cycle stages such as seed germination and seedling establishment …

In soils, plants and fungi can form complex mycorrhizal networks allowing nutrient transfers
between plant individuals and species. It is less clear, however, whether such networks exist …