Mycorrhizal Fungi, Heavy Metal Contamination, and Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in Forest Soils

Heavy metals accumulate in forest soils worldwide, yet their effects on greenhouse gas dynamics remain poorly understood. Mycorrhizal fungi lie at the heart of this issue. These symbiotic organisms regulate carbon and nutrient flow between trees and soil, positioning them to influence fluxes of CO2, N2O, and CH4. However, research on mycorrhizal ecology, metal toxicology, and greenhouse gas biogeochemistry has proceeded largely in isolation. This review bridges these fields through a conceptual framework built on three contamination scenarios and four mechanistic pathways. Our confidence in these mechanisms varies by gas: well-established for CO2, developing for N2O, and mostly inferential for CH4. Critical gaps remain. Studies measuring mycorrhizal communities, metal availability, and gas emissions simultaneously are rare. Comparisons between ectomycorrhizal and arbuscular mycorrhizal systems are virtually absent. This framework establishes a basis for understanding how metal-contaminated forests regulate greenhouse gas exchange and identifies priority areas for future investigation.