Effects of partial cutting on the ectomycorrhizae of Picea glauca forests in northwestern Alberta
This study assessed the impact of various harvesting practices (including those designed to emulate natural disturbances) on ectomycorrhizae (ECM) associated with white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) in northwestern Alberta, Canada. Treatments included clearcuts, partial cuts (dispersed green-tree retention with 20%, 50%, and 75% residual live trees, and aggregated green-tree retention), unharvested control sites, and a burned stand. The percentage of active white spruce root tips and ECM richness and diversity, as observed in soil cores collected throughout the study site, all decreased with increasing disturbance intensity. Effects were particularly pronounced in clearcuts, machine corridors used for access by harvesting equipment in the dispersed green-tree retention stands, and in burned areas. Reductions in ECM biodiversity could be attributed to the sensitivity of late-stage ectomycorrhizae (e.g., Cortinarius spp., Lactarius spp., and Russula spp.) to soil disturbances and changes in microclimate associated with harvesting or burning. Areas of dispersed and aggregated green-tree retention were not dramatically different than unharvested forest in terms of root tip density and ECM richness, diversity, and composition. Harvesting practices that retain a percentage of residual live trees, either dispersed throughout the cutting unit or in aggregated patches, could be an effective means of maintaining ectomycorrhizal biodiversity at the stand level.