**11. Drought tolerance and ECM fungi**

ECMF increase the capacity of plants to bear damaging effects triggered by the shortage of water. This symbiotic relationship affects different metabolic mechanisms

#### *Ectomycorrhizal Fungi as Biofertilizers in Forestry DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110090*

of the host plant and improves the gas exchange mechanism in leaves, photosynthetic rate, and direct assimilation of water from the soil, and allocation to the host plant increases the role of enzymes involved in antioxidant defense, uptake of nitrates, increase application of water through enhanced root hydraulic conductivity osmotic modification, and variations in the flexibility of cell wall. ECMF are useless in severe drought situations [17]. Drought is very common and natural disaster affecting both crop development and livelihood in many ways. It has been assessed that drought damages many plants and crops [18]. Since ECMF have the ability to make the plants which may tolerate water shortage and used to lessen such crop losses. Different research studies have shown that adding ECMF can enhance the growth and production of plants under water-stressed environments. Observations showed that the soil moisture content is higher in ECMF-protected treatments, which shows that ECMF increase soil moisture [19].
