Depression of the soil arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community by the canopy gaps in a Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) plantation on Lushan Mountain, subtropical China

Both canopy gaps (CG) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play key roles in seedling establishment and increasing species diversity in forests. The response of AMF to canopy gaps is poorly understood. To assess the long-term effects of canopy gaps on soil AMF community, we sampled soil from plots in a 50-year Cryptomeria japonica (L.f.) D. Don. plantation, located in Lushan Mountain, subtropical China. We analyzed the AMF community, identified through 454 pyrosequencing, in soil and edaphic characteristics. Both richness and diversity of AMF in CG decreased significantly compared to the closed canopy (CC). The differences of the AMF community composition between CG and CC was also significant. The sharp response of the AMF community appears to be largely driven by vegetation transformation. Soil nutrient content also influenced some taxa, e.g., the low availability of phosphorus increased the abundance of Acaulospora. These results demonstrated that the formation of canopy gaps can depress AMF richness and alter the AMF community, which supported the plant investment hypothesis and accentuated the vital role of AMF–plant symbioses in forest management.

Blodgettia sinensis sp. nov. from Lushan Mountain, China

A new asexual fungus Blodgettia sinensis is described and illustrated from a specimen collected on dead branches of an unidentified broadleaf tree in Lushan Mountain, China. The fungus differs from other described Blodgettia species in its ellipsoidal, brown, 3(–6)-euseptate conidia with rounded apices.

Lylea obclavata sp. nov. from Lushan Mountain, China

A new species, Lylea obclavata, is described and illustrated from a specimen collected on the dead branches of an unidentified plant in Lushan Mountain, China. The fungus is distinguished by its obclavate smooth (1–)2-distoseptate conidia produced in unbranched acropetal chains. A key and synoptic table to Lylea species are provided.