Are Wildfires a Threat to Fungi in European Pinus Forests? A Case Study of Boreal and Mediterranean Forests

Natural forests and plantations of Pinus are ecologically and economically important worldwide, producing an array of goods and services, including the provision of non-wood forest products. Pinus species play an important role in Mediterranean and boreal forests. Although Pinus species seem to show an ecological adaptation to recurrent wildfires, a new era of mega fires is predicted, owing to climate changes associated with global warming. As a consequence, fungal communities, which are key players in forest ecosystems, could be strongly affected by these wildfires. The aim of this study was to observe the fungal community dynamics, and particularly the edible fungi, in maritime (Pinus pinaster Ait.), austrian pine (Pinus nigra J.F. Arnold), and scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) forests growing under wet Mediterranean, dry Mediterranean, and boreal climatic conditions, respectively, by comparing the mushrooms produced in severely burned Pinus forests in each area. Sporocarps were collected during the main sampling campaigns in non-burned plots, and in burned plots one year and five years after fire. A total of 182 taxa, belonging to 81 genera, were collected from the sampled plots, indicating a high level of fungal diversity in these pine forests, independent of the climatic conditions. The composition of the fungal communities was strongly affected by wildfire. Mycorrhizal taxa were impacted more severely by wildfire than the saprotrophic taxa, particularly in boreal forests—no mycorrhizal taxa were observed in the year following fire in boreal forests. Based on our observations, it seems that fungal communities of boreal P. sylvestris forests are not as adapted to high-intensity fires as the Mediterranean fungal communities of P. nigra and P. pinaster forests. This will have an impact on reducing fungal diversity and potential incomes in rural economically depressed areas that depend on income from foraged edible fungi, one of the most important non-wood forest products.

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Composition of soil bacterial and fungal communities in relation to vegetation composition and soil characteristics along an altitudinal gradient

FEMS Microbiology Ecology ◽

10.1093/femsec/fiaa201 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 97 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Mohammad Bayranvand ◽

Moslem Akbarinia ◽

Gholamreza Salehi Jouzani ◽

Javad Gharechahi ◽

Yahya Kooch ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Quality ◽

Forest Floor ◽

Fungal Diversity ◽

Altitudinal Gradient ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Fungal Communities ◽

Vegetation Composition ◽

Soil Bacterial ◽

Favorable Conditions ◽

Altitude Level

ABSTRACT The objective of the present study was to evaluate how altitudinal gradients shape the composition of soil bacterial and fungal communities, humus forms and soil properties across six altitude levels in Hyrcanian forests. Soil microbiomes were characterized by sequencing amplicons of selected molecular markers. Soil chemistry and plant mycorrhizal type were the two dominant factors explaining variations in bacterial and fungal diversity, respectively. The lowest altitude level had more favorable conditions for the formation of mull humus and exhibited higher N and Ca contents. These conditions were also associated with a higher proportion of Betaproteobacteria, Acidimicrobia, Acidobacteria and Nitrospirae. Low soil and forest floor quality as well as lower bacterial and fungal diversity characterized higher altitude levels, along with a high proportion of shared bacterial (Thermoleophilia, Actinobacteria and Bacilli) and fungal (Eurotiomycetes and Mortierellomycota) taxa. Beech-dominated sites showed moderate soil quality and high bacterial (Alphaproteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Planctomycetes and Bacteroidetes) and fungal (Basidiomycota) diversity. Particularly, the Basidiomycota were well represented in pure beech forests at an altitude of 1500 m. In fertile and nitrogen rich soils with neutral pH, soil quality decreased along the altitudinal gradient, indicating that microbial diversity and forest floor decomposition were likely constrained by climatic conditions.

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Sheltering Role of Well-Decayed Conifer Logs for Forest Floor Fungi in Long-Term Polluted Boreal Forests

Frontiers in Microbiology ◽

10.3389/fmicb.2021.729244 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Vladimir S. Mikryukov ◽

Olesya V. Dulya ◽

Igor E. Bergman ◽

Georgiy A. Lihodeevskiy ◽

Anzhelika D. Loginova ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Boreal Forests ◽

Fungal Diversity ◽

Woody Debris ◽

Alpha Diversity ◽

Forest Litter ◽

Forest Degradation ◽

Fungal Communities ◽

Low Rank ◽

Industrial Emissions

Coarse woody debris (CWD) provides food and shelter to a large proportion of forest biota and is considered vital for biodiversity during periods of harsh weather. However, its importance in long-term stressed ecosystems remains largely unknown. In this work, we explored the contribution of CWD to fungal diversity along the gradient of boreal forest degradation caused by 77 years of heavy industrial emissions. We analyzed the diversity and composition of fungi in 270 samples of well-decayed Picea abies and Abies sibirica logs, as well as forest litter both adjacent to and distant from the logs. Compared with forest litter, the wood had higher water content and possessed substantially lower concentrations of heavy metals, which suggests its potential favorability for biota in polluted areas. The pollution-induced loss of fungal diversity in forest litter reached 34% and was stronger in the microhabitats not influenced by CWD. Meanwhile, wood fungal communities lost less than 10% of their total richness and even increased in alpha diversity. These processes led to the diversity and compositional convergence of fungal communities from different microhabitats and substrates in polluted areas. Despite this, the importance of wood and CWD-influenced microhabitats for fungal diversity maintenance was low. Apart from wood-associated fungi, the taxa whose diversity increased in the wood of polluted areas were ectomycorrhizal fungi and eurytopic soil saprotrophs (Mucoromycota, Mortierellomycota, Eurotiomycetes, and Helotiales) that easily tolerate highly toxic litter. Within the majority of pollution-sensitive soil saprotrophic groups, only terricolous Tricholomataceae benefit from CWD as microrefugia. Upon considering the ecological variability within low-rank taxa, the importance of decayed logs as safe sites can be high for certain soil-inhabiting fungal groups in polluted areas.

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Yeasts dominate soil fungal communities in three lowland Neotropical rainforests

10.1101/138057 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Micah Dunthorn ◽

Håvard Kauserud ◽

David Bass ◽

Jordan Mayor ◽

Frédéric Mahé

Keyword(s):

South America ◽

Central America ◽

Forest Soils ◽

Boreal Forests ◽

Fungal Diversity ◽

Tropical Rainforest ◽

Soil Samples ◽

Fungal Communities ◽

Aquatic Environments ◽

Biogeographic Pattern

ABSTRACTForest soils typically harbour a vast diversity of fungi, but are usually dominated by filamentous (hyphae-forming) taxa. Compared to temperate and boreal forests, though, we have limited knowledge about the fungal diversity in tropical rainforest soils. Here we show, by environmental metabarcoding of soil samples collected in three Neotropical rainforests, that Yeasts dominate the fungal communities in terms of the number of sequencing reads and OTUs. These unicellular forms are commonly found in aquatic environments, and their hyperdiversity may be the result of frequent inundation combined with numerous aquatic microenvironments in these rainforests. Other fungi that are frequent in aquatic environments, such as the abundant Chytridiomycotina, were also detected. While there was low similarity in OTU composition within and between the three rainforests, the fungal communities in Central America were more similar to each other than the communities in South America, reflecting a general biogeographic pattern also seen in animals, plants, and [email protected]

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Fungal and bacterial community dynamics in substrates during the cultivation of morels (Morchella rufobrunnea) indoors

FEMS Microbiology Letters ◽

10.1093/femsle/fnz215 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 366 (17) ◽

Author(s):

Reid Longley ◽

Gian Maria Niccoló Benucci ◽

Gary Mills ◽

Gregory Bonito

Keyword(s):

Microbial Communities ◽

Internal Transcribed Spacer ◽

Community Dynamics ◽

Amplicon Sequencing ◽

Fungal Communities ◽

Rrna Gene ◽

Prokaryotic Community ◽

Edible Fungi ◽

Microbial Community Dynamics ◽

Bacterial Community Dynamics

ABSTRACT Morel mushrooms (Morchella, Pezizales) are highly prized edible fungi. Approaches to cultivate morels indoors in pasteurized composted substrates have been successful for Morchella rufobrunnea. We used DNA amplicon sequencing of the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) ribosomal DNA and 16S rRNA gene to follow bacterial and fungal communities in substrates during indoor morel cultivation. Our goal was to determine changes in microbial communities at key stages of morel cultivation, which included primordia development, fundament initiation, differentiation and maturation. Additionally, we compared microbial communities between trays that successfully fruited to those that produced conidia and primordia but aborted before ascocarp formation (non-fruiting). The prokaryotic community was dominated by Firmicutes belonging to Bacillus and Paenibacillus with a lower abundance of Flavobacteria. At earlier stages, the fungal community was dominated by Pezizomycetes including Morchella and other species, whereas, later in the cropping cycle Sordariomycetes dominated. Additionally, differences were observed between trays with successful fruiting, which were dominated by Gilmaniella; compared to trays that did not fruit, which were dominated by Cephalotrichum. Our findings inform understanding of microbial community dynamics during morel cultivation, and show that fungal genera, such as Gilmaniella, and prokaryotic genera, such as Bacillus, are abundant in substrates that support M. rufobrunnea fruiting.

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Syntaxonomy of mid-successional stages of secondary forests of the central elevated part of the Southern Urals

Vegetation of Russia ◽

10.31111/vegrus/2012.20.109 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 109-134

Author(s):

P. S. Shirokikh ◽

A. M. Kunafin ◽

V. B. Martynenko

Keyword(s):

Boreal Forests ◽

Floristic Composition ◽

Southern Urals ◽

Secondary Forests ◽

Natural Forests ◽

The Southern Urals ◽

Active Growth ◽

Tree Layer ◽

Shade Tolerant Species ◽

Successional Stages

The secondary birch and aspen forests of middle stages of succession of the central elevated part of the Southern Urals are studied. 4 subassociations, 1 community, and 7 variants in the alliances of Aconito-Piceion and Piceion excelsae are allocated. It is shown that the floristic composition of aspen and birch secondary forests in the age of 60—80 years is almost identical to the natural forests. However, a slight increase the coenotical role of light-requiring species of grasslands and hemiboreal forests in the secondary communities of the class Brachypodio-Betuletea was noticed as well as some reduction of role the shade-tolerant species of nemoral complex and species of boreal forests of the class Vaccinio-Piceetea. Dominant tree layer under the canopy of secondary series is marked by an active growth of natural tree species.

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When Density Matters: The Spatial Balance between Early and Latewood

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12070818 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (7) ◽

pp. 818

Author(s):

Maria Royo-Navascues ◽

Edurne Martinez del Castillo ◽

Roberto Serrano-Notivoli ◽

Ernesto Tejedor ◽

Klemen Novak ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Distribution ◽

Pinus Halepensis ◽

Environmental Gradients ◽

Temporal Variations ◽

Western Mediterranean ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Growth Patterns ◽

Distribution Area ◽

Mediterranean Forests ◽

Climatic Influence

Understanding the influence of the current climate on the distribution, composition, and carbon storage capacity of Mediterranean tree species is key to determining future pathways under a warmer and drier climate scenario. Here, we evaluated the influence of biotic and environmental factors on earlywood (EW) and latewood (LW) growth in Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.). Our investigation was based on a dense dendrochronological network (71 sites), which covered the entire distribution area of the species in the Iberian Peninsula (around 119.652 km2), and a high-resolution climate dataset of the Western Mediterranean area. We used generalized linear-mixed models to determine the spatial and temporal variations of EW and LW across the species distribution. Our results showed an intense but differentiated climatic influence on both EW and LW growth components. The climatic influence explained significant variations across the environmental gradients in the study area, which suggested an important adaptation through phenotypic plasticity and local adaptation to varying climatic conditions. In addition, we detected a clear spatial trade-off between efficiency and safety strategy in the growth patterns across the species distribution. Additionally, in more productive areas, the trees presented a higher proportion of EW (more efficient to water transport), while, in more xeric conditions, the LW proportion increased (more safety to avoid embolisms), implying an adaptation to more frequent drought episodes and a higher capacity of carbon depletion. We therefore concluded that Mediterranean forests adapted to dryer conditions might be more efficient as carbon reservoirs than forests growing in wetter areas. Finally, we advocated for the need to consider wood density (EW/LW proportion) when modeling current and future forest carbon sequestrations.

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Different Amplicon Targets for Sequencing-Based Studies of Fungal Diversity

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.00905-17 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 83 (17) ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Francesca De Filippis ◽

Manolo Laiola ◽

Giuseppe Blaiotta ◽

Danilo Ercolini

Keyword(s):

Microbial Ecology ◽

High Throughput ◽

Biological Samples ◽

Fungal Diversity ◽

High Throughput Sequencing ◽

Amplicon Sequencing ◽

Fungal Species ◽

Fungal Communities ◽

Its2 Region ◽

Mock Community

ABSTRACT Target-gene amplicon sequencing is the most exploited high-throughput sequencing application in microbial ecology. The targets are taxonomically relevant genes, with 16S rRNA being the gold standard for bacteria. As for fungi, the most commonly used target is the internal transcribed spacer (ITS). However, the uneven ITS length among species may promote preferential amplification and sequencing and incorrect estimation of their abundance. Therefore, the use of different targets is desirable. We evaluated the use of three different target amplicons for the characterization of fungal diversity. After an in silico primer evaluation, we compared three amplicons (the ITS1-ITS2 region [ITS1-2], 18S ribosomal small subunit RNA, and the D1/D2 domain of the 26S ribosomal large subunit RNA), using biological samples and a mock community of common fungal species. All three targets allowed for accurate identification of the species present. Nevertheless, high heterogeneity in ITS1-2 length was found, and this caused an overestimation of the abundance of species with a shorter ITS, while both 18S and 26S amplicons allowed for more reliable quantification. We demonstrated that ITS1-2 amplicon sequencing, although widely used, may lead to an incorrect evaluation of fungal communities, and efforts should be made to promote the use of different targets in sequencing-based microbial ecology studies. IMPORTANCE Amplicon-sequencing approaches for fungi may rely on different targets affecting the diversity and abundance of the fungal species. An increasing number of studies will address fungal diversity by high-throughput amplicon sequencing. The description of the communities must be accurate and reliable in order to draw useful insights and to address both ecological and biological questions. By analyzing a mock community and several biological samples, we demonstrate that using different amplicon targets may change the results of fungal microbiota analysis, and we highlight how a careful choice of the target is fundamental for a thorough description of the fungal communities.

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Fungal diversity in high Andean ecuadorian forest soil

10.22541/au.161546623.36028736/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Adrian Valdez ◽

Sergio Covarrubias

Keyword(s):

Fungal Diversity ◽

High Performance ◽

Its Region ◽

Taxonomic Composition ◽

Soil Samples ◽

Fungal Communities ◽

Gallery Forest ◽

Volcanic Soils ◽

Altitudinal Gradients ◽

The Andes

The Andes range in Ecuador presents high biodiversity and characteristic altitudinal gradients, which are frequently threatened by deforestation and farming. In particular, forest have developed in the high inter-Andean alley on volcanic soils forming a unique ecoregion. Little is known on the fungal biodiversity of soil in such high Andean gallery forest submitted to strong degradation pressures. Therefore, in this study we evaluated wether the soil mycobiome was associated with altitudinal gradients during the dry season. Three representative locations were selected based on altitude: A (3,309 meters above the sea level, masl), B (3,809 masl) and C (4,409 masl). High performance sequencing (NGS) of the ITS region of ribosomal DNA genes with Illumina technology was used to explore the fungal taxonomic composition in the soil samples. Our results showed changes in the structure of fungal communities in the different locations, related to the relative abundance of Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASV). Higher fungal diversity was related with the altitudinal gradient with average taxa ranging from 675, 626 and 556 ASVs, respectively from location A to C. The results highlight the complexity and diversity of fungal communities in high Andean forest and the need to protect these unique mycobiomes. The findings in this ecosystem of Ecuador will improve our understanding of distribution, diversity, ecology, and biological perspectives for the restoration of terrestrial microbiomes.

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Appraising Forest-Based Livelihoods through Assessment of Major NTFPs: A Case Study from Jharkhand, India

International Journal of Economic Plants ◽

10.23910/2/2020.0353 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 053-059

Author(s):

Sunil Prasad ◽

◽

Dhanpal Singh Chauhan ◽

Keyword(s):

Value Chain ◽

Rural Livelihoods ◽

Forest Products ◽

Structured Interview ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Interview Schedule ◽

Income Sources ◽

Mineral Wealth ◽

Non Timber Forest Products

The state Jharkhand is one of the Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) rich states of the country because of diverse physiographic and climatic conditions. It is known for its mineral wealth, tribal population and forests. NTFPs play an important role in supporting rural livelihoods and food security in tribal Jharkhand. The present study was carried out in three distinct villages of Jharkhand to explore the range of livelihood contributions of NTFPs. The study was based on empirical fieldwork using both quantitative and qualitative data. A structured interview schedule was managed for the respondents. Comparing income sources, we found that most of the households collect NTFPs and earn a handsome amount of income from NTFPs ranges from 33% to 59%. We also prioritized potential NTFPs along with their basic value chain.

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Long-lasting modification of soil fungal diversity associated with the introduction of rabbits to a remote sub-Antarctic archipelago

Biology Letters ◽

10.1098/rsbl.2015.0408 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. 20150408 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Johan Pansu ◽

Richard C. Winkworth ◽

Françoise Hennion ◽

Ludovic Gielly ◽

Pierre Taberlet ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Communities ◽

Fungal Diversity ◽

Extracellular Dna ◽

Fungal Communities ◽

Late Nineteenth Century ◽

Mammalian Herbivores ◽

Introduced Herbivores ◽

Compositional Changes ◽

Late Nineteenth ◽

Soil Fungal Diversity

During the late nineteenth century, Europeans introduced rabbits to many of the sub-Antarctic islands, environments that prior to this had been devoid of mammalian herbivores. The impacts of rabbits on indigenous ecosystems are well studied; notably, they cause dramatic changes in plant communities and promote soil erosion. However, the responses of fungal communities to such biotic disturbances remain unexplored. We used metabarcoding of soil extracellular DNA to assess the diversity of plant and fungal communities at sites on the sub-Antarctic Kerguelen Islands with contrasting histories of disturbance by rabbits. Our results suggest that on these islands, the simplification of plant communities and increased erosion resulting from the introduction of rabbits have driven compositional changes, including diversity reductions, in indigenous soil fungal communities. Moreover, there is no indication of recovery at sites from which rabbits were removed 20 years ago. These results imply that introduced herbivores have long-lasting and multifaceted effects on fungal biodiversity as well as highlight the low resiliency of sub-Antarctic ecosystems.

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