Adriana Corrales

Corrales’ research focuses on fungal ecology with an emphasis on how underground fungal systems fuel the well-being of woody species and tropical ecosystems. Her work across deserts and rainforests and in six countries — China, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Panama and the US — has linked fungal diversity to ecosystem processes. 

In a significant discovery from her field work, Corrales demonstrated that some tropical forests that are dominated by one or a small number of different tree species, result from a symbiotic relationship with ectomycorrhizal fungi. These fungi mine nitrogen from the soil and leaf litter and make it less available to competing species.

In her current position with the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN), Corrales is leading a new collaborative initiative to document and map mycorrhizal fungi biodiversity around the world, and this information will be crucial to influence global conservation agendas in coming years.

For more information, visit her website.