Ectomycorrhizae (ECM) and soil microfungi were studied in soil cores from seven unequally polluted forest plots spaced at different distances from a fertilizer factory in Lithuania. The abundance of ECM roots and soil microfungi was visibly different in separate investigation plots. Average amount of ECM root tips during the investigation period (2000-2002) in different forests was from 134 to 1017 tips /100 cm³ of soil and the length of ECM roots was from 12.2 to 79.8 cm/100 cm³. The concentration of viable soil fungi revealed during the investigation varied from 1.5 to 566.6 thousands CFU/ g d.w. soil. The forest farthest from the factory exhibited the highest abundance of ECM and diversity of ectomycorrhizal morphotypes, while the abundance of soil microfungi was lowest. The lowest diversity of ECM morphotypes was determined in forests characterized by the highest concentration of heavy metals, nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus) and the highest microfungal abundance was in forests with the highest concentration of nutrients.