Development and stabilisation of soil structure via interactions between organic matter, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and plant roots

► Contribution of AM fungi/plant roots to Self-Organisation of Soil Systems examined. ► Plants were key drivers of structural formation but not structural stability. ► AM fungi were key drivers of structural stability by ↑ water-stable aggregation. ► Absence of OM, plants or AM fungi resulted in failure to develop stable structure. ► The HM indicates a structured mechanism to restore SOSS to severely degraded soils.