"Understanding soil diversity is critical in conservation actions to preserve the world's most diverse forest in a changing world, said Dr Camila Ritter of the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany."

"For this, we need to put below-ground biodiversity on the agenda for future conservation action plans," she said.

"Fungi are essential for recycling nutrients and regulating carbon dioxide levels, as well as being a source of food and medicines."

"Yet, some species have a darker side; devastating trees, crops and other plants across the world, and wiping out animals such as amphibians."