Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi play a key role in terrestrial ecosystems by forming
symbiotic relationships with plants and may confer benefits for sustainable agriculture,
by reducing reliance on harmful fertiliser and pesticide inputs and enhancing plant
resilience against insect herbivores. Despite their ecological importance, critical
gaps in understanding AM fungal ecology limit predictions of their responses to global
change in agroecosystems. However, predicting climate change impacts on AM fungi is
important for maintaining crop productivity and ecosystem stability. Efforts to classify
AM fungi based on functional traits, such as the competitor, stress‐tolerator, ruderal
(C‐S‐R) framework, aim to address these gaps but face challenges due to the obligate
symbiotic nature of the fungi. As the framework is still widely used, we evaluate
its applicability in predicting global change impacts on AM fungal communities in
agroecosystems. Chagnon's adaptation of the C‐S‐R framework for AM fungi aligns with
some study outcomes (e.g., under the context of water limitation) but faces challenges
when used in complex climate change scenarios, varying agricultural conditions and/or
extreme climatic conditions. The reliance on a limited dataset to classify AM fungal
families further limits accurate predictions of AM fungal community dynamics. Trait
data collection could support a nuanced understanding of AM fungi and leveraging AM
fungal databases could streamline data management and analysis, enhancing efforts
to clarify AM fungal responses to environmental change and guide ecosystem management
practices. Thus, while the C‐S‐R framework holds promise, it requires additional AM
fungal trait data for validation and improvement of its predictive power. Conclusively,
before designing experiments based on life‐history strategies and developing new frameworks
tailored to AM fungi a critical first step is to gain a comprehensive understanding
of their traits.
