ABSTRACT
There has been an increasing focus on the importance of spatial scales in ecology. The focus is twofold in that an understanding of spatial and temporal scales is essential both for describing the distribution of organisms and for understanding the roles of organisms in ecosystem function. Issues of scale may be especially important for understanding fungal contributions to ecosystem dynamics as fungi play essential roles in nearly every aspect of ecosystem development, stability, and function. Fungi and fungal community structure play major roles in determining both above-and belowground biodiversity within ecosystems (e.g., Van der Heijden et al., 1998a, 1998b; Bever et al., 2001; Klironomos, 2003).
