A novel plant-fungal mutualism associated with fire

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This study sampled cheatgrass endophytes and found many fire-associated fungi, including Morchella in three western states (New Mexico, Idaho, and Washington). In greenhouse experiments, a New Mexico isolate of Morchella increased both the biomass and fecundity of its local cheatgrass population, thus simultaneously increasing both the probability of fire and survival of that event, via more fuel and a greater, belowground seed bank, respectively.