While forest degradation persists across many regions, restoration efforts have predominantly targeted aboveground carbon, often overlooking critical belowground ecosystem functions. Plant-mycorrhizal associations - key connectors between aboveground and belowground biodiversity - can help to enhance both carbon storage and forest multifunctionality; yet their explicit integration into restoration frameworks remains limited. By synthesizing recent advancements, we highlight the role of plant-mycorrhizal diversity in enhancing soil carbon pools and supporting multiple ecosystem functions. By examining evidence-based restoration cases, we propose a framework linking plant-mycorrhizal associations to sustainably restore resilient and multifunctional forest ecosystems. Incorporating the functional traits of plant-mycorrhizal associations into restoration strategies provides a pathway to effectively address the interconnected biodiversity and climate crises.

Amsterdam Institute for Life and Environment Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam The Netherlands; Society for the Protection of Underground Networks SPUN Dover DE USA

Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences Institute of Soil Biology and Biogeochemistry Na Sádkách 7 37005 České Budějovice Czech Republic; Institute for Environmental Studies Charles University Benátská 2 Praha 2 Prague Czech Republic

Department of Biology Indiana University Bloomington IN USA

Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology University of Torino Torino 10125 Italy

Freie Universität Berlin Institute for Biology Berlin Germany; Berlin Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research Berlin Germany

German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle Jena Leipzig Leipzig 04103 Germany; Institute of Biology Leipzig University Leipzig 04103 Germany

Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany South China Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou 510650 China; Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Plant Conservation and Utilization in Southern China South China Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou 510650 China

Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany South China Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou 510650 China; Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Plant Conservation and Utilization in Southern China South China Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou 510650 China; German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle Jena Leipzig Leipzig 04103 Germany; Institute of Biology Leipzig University Leipzig 04103 Germany

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