A three-act play: pentachlorophenol threats to the cork oak forest soils mycobiome

•Is the chronic contamination of soils with PCP spread worldwide?•Can fungi act as buffer against the perturbation caused by PCP in ecosystems?•Can fungi preserve the multi-functionality of terrestrial ecosystem threatened by PCP?

Atmospheric release of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) constitutes a silent threat through chronic contamination of soils at global scale; yet fundamental understanding of their occurrence, sources and fate is still largely lacking. Similar to a three act play, this review comprises Setup, Confrontation and Resolution. The first emphasises the eighty years of the history of pentachlorophenol (PCP) usage, only recently classified as POP. The second focus on active sources of PCP pollution, including inside cork oak forests in N.W. Tunisia; a threat partially neutralised by the soil microbial diversity, especially fungi. As Resolution, the need for improved knowledge on the global distribution and impacts of PCP in soil microbial diversity as means to preserve the multi-functionality of terrestrial ecosystem is emphasised.