Rombouts et al. (2026): Interactions between silicate weathering and ectomycorrhiza in severely acidified forests

Thomas Rombouts, Robrecht Van Der Bauwhede, Matteo Campioli, Håkan Wallander, Judith Sitters and Erik Verbruggen, IN: Communications Earth & Environment, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-026-03592-y

Soil acidification driven by anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition is a growing global threat to forest health. Aside from direct nutrient-related effects, as forest soils acidify, severe reductions in ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungi abundance and diversity follow. This is worrisome, as EcM fungi are essential for tree nutrient acquisition and are important catalysts of mineral weathering and soil formation. Conventional remediation techniques such as dolomite liming often increase buffering too rapidly, leading to disturbed EcM fungal communities. Enhanced silicate weathering (ESW), the application of finely ground rock dust, has emerged as a more gradual, slow-release antacid. However, interactions and feedback processes between ESW and EcM remain poorly understood. ESW may improve EcM conditions, with outcomes depending on fungal community composition and mineralogy of the applied rock dust. Because EcM also accelerates mineral weathering, the authors postulate a positive feedback between ESW, EcM recovery and silicate dissolution. This synergy could restore nutrient cycling and tree vitality, while stabilising soil organic carbon (SOC) through complexation onto secondary minerals.

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