Fungal Perspective of Pine and Oak Colonization in Mediterranean Degraded Ecosystems

Forest restoration has become one of the most important challenges for restoration ecology in the recent years. In this regard, soil fungi are fundamental drivers of forest ecosystem processes, with significant implications for plant growth and survival. However, the post-disturbance recovery of belowground communities has been rarely assessed, especially in highly degraded systems such as mines. Our aim was to compare forests and mined systems for biomass and structure of fungal communities in soil during early stages of tree establishment after disturbance. We performed ergosterol analysis and PacBio and Illumina sequencing of internal transcribed spacer 2 amplicons across soil layers in P. sylvestris, Q. robur and Q. ilex (holm oak) forests and naturally revegetated mined sites. In pine forests, total fungal biomass was significantly higher in litter and humus compared to mineral layers, with dominance of the mycorrhizal genera Tomentella, Inocybe and Tricholoma. Conversely, in oak forests the most abundant mycorrhizal genera were Tomentella, Cortinarius and Sebacina, but the biomass of saprotrophic fungi was greater in the litter layer compared to mycorrhizal fungi, with the genus Preussia being the most abundant. In the revegetated mined sites, ectomycorrhizal fungi dominated in the humus and mineral layers, with the mycorrhizal genus Oidiodendron being dominant. In contrast, in holm oak forests saprotrophic fungi dominated both soil humus and mineral layers, with the genera of Alternaria, Bovista and Mycena dominating the soil humus forest layer, while the genus Cadophora dominated the mineral layer. The habitat-specific differences in soil fungal community composition and putative functions suggest that an understanding of soil–plant–microbial interactions for different tree species and use of specific soil/litter inoculum upon planting/seeding might help to increase the effectiveness of tree restoration strategies in Mediterranean degraded sites.

Oak forests of the alliance Scutellario altissimae–Quercion roboris Goncharenko et al. 2020 in the South of the European part of Russia

The article describes a new association of meso-xerophylous forests in the South of the European part of Russia Poo nemoralis–Quercetum roboris ass. nov. hoc loco, its differentiation from analogous syntaxa is discussed, and new data on the distribution of communities of the alliance Scutellario altissimae–Quercion roboris Goncharenko et al. 2020 on the Russian Plain are done. Vegetation classification was carried out by J. Braun-Blanquet approach based on 470 relevés of forest vegetation, collected by the author in 2007–2021 in the northern and central parts of Rostov, Voronezh and Volgograd Regions. In addition, the analysis included 777 relevés from the phytocenary made by G. M. Zozulin in the same regions in 1960–1980s. Based on the studies carried out, the current area of the alliance can be expanded to the lower reaches of the Don River. For a more adequate reflection of the floristic, ecological and geographical features of its communities, it was proposed to change the composition of the diagnostic species of the alliance and it was recommended to amend the current definition of the order Quercetalia pubescenti-petraeae, expanding its area to Eastern Europe.

Responses of soil-inhabiting mesostigmatid mites to deforestation and disturbance in oak (Quercus brontii) forests of southwestern Iran

The impacts of deforestation on edaphic mesostigmatid mites were investigated in oak forests of Lordegan, southwestern Iran, from April to October. A total of twenty-one species belonging to eighteen genera and ten families were collected and identified. The Shannon-Wiener, Simpson, Jaccard's and Margalef biodiversity indices were used for data analyses. Among the collected species, Antennoseius bacatus with 29% and Sessilunchus hungaricus with 16% relative abundance were the most abundant and dominant species in human-disturbed and natural forests, respectively. The estimated values were higher in natural oak forest than in disturbed and cultivated habitat. Significant differences were observed in soil nitrogen content and soil organic carbon between the two habitats, but not in pH values. Significant effects of sampling time and habitat were found on all four indices, but the effect of their interactions on these indices was not significant. It can be concluded that the changes in soil quality that resulted from deforestation may have a major role in reducing the soil mite density and related diversity indices in disturbed forests.

Impact of different factors degrading cork oak stands in the Mediterranean region: A case study from Algeria

In recent years, the cork oak forests that characterise the Mediterranean region have been exposed to various factors that result in their degradation. These cork oak trees, due to increasingly accentuated anthropogenic activity, undergo withering at different scales.The objective of the study is to assess the impact of various factors that degrade cork oak forests in the Mediterranean region located in northeastern Algeria, and this was achieved by prospecting 22 sampling locations. This allowed the creation of a database containing 745 trees that were observed and 27 measured variables. Different readings were then taken into consideration based on measurements and sometimes on ratings. The impact of several biotic and abiotic factors, which affect and damage the health of cork oak, was identified. These factors include in particular the infestations by xylomycetophagous insects such as Platypus cylindrus and Xyleborus sp., which can potentially infest the cork oak trees that we observed one year after bark harvesting. On the other hand, the stationary descriptors such as altitude, slope, exposure, etc., are important for the dendrometric and exploitation characteristics, but their unfavourable values do not necessarily lead to tree mortality; for example, medium to low slopes, associated with average altitudes of 600 m a.s.l., may ensure the healthiest trees like in our case study. Finally, we were able to find that certain decline factors may affect a particular category of trees, either because they are older, taller or have a large girth, or because they are subject to inadequate debarking.

The Seasonal Population Dynamics of Corythucha arcuata (Say, 1832) (Hemiptera: Tingidae) and the Relationship between Meteorological Factors and the Diurnal Flight Intensity of the Adults in Romanian Oak Forests

To control a forest pest, it is necessary to understand the biotic and/or abiotic factors that can lead to population regulation. Such knowledge is even more critical if the pest is an invasive alien species. This is the case for Corythucha arcuata (Say, 1832), commonly known as the oak lace bug (OLB), an alien insect species that has invaded oak forests on a large scale, both in Romania and other European countries. In this study, we set out to examine the relationship between adults of this species and meteorological factors, such as air temperature and humidity. The study lasted for two years (2019–2020) and was performed on three plots in Romania, in Ilfov, Giurgiu, and Călărași counties. In the first year, the seasonal dynamics of the OLB populations and the meteorological factors potentially influencing those were studied, whilst in the second year, the dynamics of the diurnal activity of the insect population were examined. We found that Corythucha arcuata experienced two population peaks—in July and August—and a diurnal population dynamic that reached a maximum at midday. Data analysis indicated that, for most of the time, the adult activity was influenced by both temperature and humidity. In addition, the population dynamics were not constant over the course of the day, preferring relatively high temperatures and low humidity but not exceeding certain thresholds of thermal discomfort.

Diversity of lichen biota of oak forests of the reserve «Vydritsa» (Republic of Belarus, Gomel Region)

As a result of the research, the species composition of lichens and closely related fungi of the oak forest of the reserve «Vydritsa» (Republic of Belarus, Gomel Region) has been revealed. An annotated list, including 113 species has been compiled, 106 of these species are lichens, 6 – non-lichenised saprobic and 1 – lichenicolous fungi. Species Calicium adspersum, Cetrelia olivetorum, Chaenotheca chlorella, Cladonia caespiticia, Lobaria pulmonaria and Parmotrema stuppeum are included in the Red Data Book of Belarus and are listed for the first time for the Svetlogorsk district and the reserve «Vydritsa». The indicator lichens of old-growth oak forests include 20 species; 28 species were recorded in all 12 surveyed localities.

Request (4) and Proposal (28): to conserve the name Molinio arundinaceae-Quercetum roboris Neuhäusl et Neuhäuslová-Novotná 1967

We propose (i) to select Quercus robur as the name-giving taxon of the associations Molinio arundinaceae-QuercetumSamek 1962 and Molinio arundinaceae-QuercetumNeuhäusl et Neuhäuslová-Novotná 1967 and (ii) to conserve the younger name Molinio arundinaceae-Quercetum roborisNeuhäusl et Neuhäuslová-Novotná 1967, representing hygrophytic Central European acidophilous oak forests (Quercion roboris alliance). (28) Molinio arundinaceae-QuercetumNeuhäusl et Neuhäuslová-Novotná 1967: 17–23, table 2. Typus: Neuhäusl and Neuhäuslová-Novotná (1967), table 2, rel. 11 (lectotypus; Pallas 1996: 51). (H) Molinio arundinaceae-QuercetumSamek 1962: 134–135, table V on p. 156–160. Typus: Samek (1962), Table V, rel. 28 (lectotypus; Moravec 1998: 33). Taxonomic reference: Marhold et al. (1998). Abbreviations: ICPN = International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature.

Changes in the Townscape of Lampertszásza (Berehove/Beregszász) in the 13th–15th Centuries

Across the River Tisza, there lies a town, Berehove (hereinafter also referred to as Beregszász [Hu]), situated on the north-eastern edge of the Great Hungarian Plain with the wind swaying ears of wheat, on the flatlands surrounded by rustling oak forests, gold-sweating trachyte mountains, and rivers subsiding upon reaching the plain. It is a veritable fairy garden, a small piece of the realm that out foremother, Emese, dreamt of back in the day. Places, just as people, have their own destinies: they emerge, evolve, thrive, and then, if they are destined so, disappear from the stage of history. The very first mention of Berehove dates back to early 1063, recorded under the name Lamperti, as the estate of Prince Lampert, son of Béla I of Hungary. Prince Lampert founded the later town. At the time, a small settlement must have been situated here with the prince’s countryseat inhabited by the garrison and the household servants. Residents of the house were mostly the gamekeepers and huntsmen of Bereg Forest County. To fully uncover the past is not possible – at the very most, some attempts can be made at its reconstruction by drawing on contemporary sources and relying on archaeological research. The mediaeval layout of the settlement is known from the available sources and serves as a basis for the present study in its efforts to reconstruct the settlement image of the historical town centre and to find out why Lampertszásza did not embark on the path of the ‘classic, city wall/fortification’ type of settlement development. The parish church is the only building of the mediaeval townscape that has survived partially, which, however, provides us with indications about the contemporary buildings of the one-time reginal town and the related ‘block of church buildings’.