John Dighton earned his MSc in ecology from Durham University, UK, and his PhD from London University, UK. After a brief spell of teaching high school, he worked for 15 years for the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Merlewood, UK, where he studied ectomycorrhizal fungi, forest soil ecology, forest nutrition, and the impacts of pollutants on fungi. He moved to the United States and started working with Rutgers University to run their Pinelands Field Station in the pine barrens of New Jersey. He has published more than 100 scientific papers; serves on the editorial boards of Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Fungal Biology, and Fungal Ecology; and has edited books on soil and mycology-related topics.

Introduction. Making Nutrients Available for Primary Production. Role of Fungi in Promoting Primary Production. Role of Fungi in Reducing Primary Production. Fungi and Secondary Productivity. Fungi as Animal Pathogens: Negative Impacts on Faunal Productivity. Fungal Interactions with Pollutants and Climate Change. Fungi in the Built Environment.