Belowground fungi are key sentinels in forest soils vulnerable to pentachlorophenol pollution: a mechanistic study in Quercus suber forests

Abstract

"Atmospheric release of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) constitutes a silent threat through chronic contamination of soils at global scale; yet fundamental understanding of their occurrence, sources and fate is still largely lacking. The above statement has inspired the working hypothesis of this doctoral thesis – active sources of pentachlorophenol (PCP) pollution are reaching the soils of emblematic cork oak forests (Chapter II and III), hence altering the functioning of the belowground mycobiota (Chapter III and IV) that act as buffer against the disturbance caused by the biocide (Chapter III and IV).(...)"