The rhizosphere microbiome: A key component of sustainable cork oak forests in trouble

Cork oak (Quercus suber L.) is an emblematic component of western Mediterranean basin landscapes. Cork oak forests have always been highly appreciated by local populations for their great ecological and socio-economic value. However, the sustainability of cork oak forests has been threatened in recent decades by a complex phenomenon of degradation called “oak decline”, worsened by the increase of anthropogenic and climatic disturbances combined...