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Terrestrial Conservation Biology Lab (Nara Lab)
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The lab explores how to conserve rare organisms by studying the relationships between plants and the fungi that live symbiotically in their roots.
AboutAbout the lab
The science of “life” in nature
The Nara Lab studies the diverse organisms living in terrestrial ecosystems, with a focus on forests.
It pays particular attention to the relationship between plants and the fungi that live symbiotically in their roots (mycorrhizal fungi).
To protect plants threatened with extinction and rare fungi, the lab conducts field surveys in Japan and overseas, and carries out DNA analysis and other work in the laboratory.
Students are free to choose their own research topics.
Key terms
- Mycorrhizal fungi
- Fungi that live symbiotically in plant roots. They receive carbohydrates from the plant and, in return, supply the plant with nutrients from the soil.
- Vegetation succession
- The process by which plants establish on bare land and, over a long period of time, the vegetation gradually changes into forest.
- Buried spores
- Fungal spores that lie dormant in the soil, waiting for the chance to meet a root and germinate.
NewsLab news
A student won the ICOM2026 New Phytologist Best ECR Day Speed Talk award
Assistant Professor Ranko won the Excellent Poster Presentation Award from the Environmental DNA Society of Japan
A paper by lab members was published in Mycoscience
Assistant Professor Ranko won the Encouragement Award from the Mycological Society of Japan
A paper by a doctoral student was published in Molecular Ecology
ResearchResearch themes
Focusing on plants, which are central to terrestrial ecosystems, and the fungi that support them, the lab conducts broad research ranging from the traits of individuals to population genetics and community ecology. It aims to understand the complex relationships among organisms and to apply this understanding to the conservation of threatened species and the restoration of lost natural environments.
*Illustrative imageMycorrhizal fungi that support tree growth
Mycorrhizal fungi that live symbiotically in tree roots absorb nutrients from the soil and pass them to the trees. Cultivation experiments in the lab have confirmed that tree seedlings hardly grow without mycorrhizal fungi.
*Illustrative imageMycorrhizal fungi link stages of vegetation succession
On barren land created by eruptions of Mt. Fuji, tree seedlings can establish only in the few places where mycorrhizal fungi are present. The lab has shown that fungal hyphae in the soil support the process by which forest returns.
*Illustrative imageConserving the endangered tree Japanese Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga japonica)
In forests of Japanese Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga japonica, “Togasawara”), a threatened tree native only to Japan, the lab discovered a new species of mycorrhizal fungus that associates only with this tree. It is the most abundant fungus among the buried spores in the soil, and it helps seedlings establish.
*Illustrative imageConserving the endangered tree Yakutane-goyo (Pinus amamiana)
For Yakutane-goyo (Pinus amamiana), a pine found only on Yakushima and Tanegashima, the lab also discovered a new species of mycorrhizal fungus specific to it, named “Yakutane-shoro.” Seedlings infected with this fungus tolerate transplanting well, so it may be useful for conservation.
MembersFaculty
The lab's members are faculty, academic specialist staff, and doctoral and master's students.As of 2026
- ProfessorKazuhide NaraPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorKento Ranko
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Rhizopogon re soil” Retama / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Mycorrhizal fungi that support tree growth: “Ectomycorrhiza in black cherry (Prunus serotina) 1” Baranowska M, Pusz W, Korzeniewicz R. / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Mycorrhizal fungi link stages of vegetation succession: “Mount Hoei and Second Crater of Hoei” Alpsdake / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Conserving the endangered tree Japanese Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga japonica): “Pseudotsuga japonica togasawara01” Keisotyo / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Conserving the endangered tree Yakutane-goyo (Pinus amamiana): “Rhizopogon roseolus 1” Andreas Kunze / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (森林共生生物学研究室): “D500-1070 Achim-Lammerts Laccaria-amethystina” Achim Lammerts (Syntaxys) / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (森林圏生物機能生態学研究室): “Okuchichibu-Forest 01” Σ64 / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (樹木環境生理学研究室): “Hutan sekunder M prui amr” Wibowo Djatmiko (Wie146) / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (陸域生態
系動態学研究室(鈴木研究室)): “Hokkaido Sika Deer” NotAnonymous / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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