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Forests
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Fungal Dynamics and Diversity in Forests
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Fungal Dynamics and Diversity in Forests

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Biodiversity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 July 2024) | Viewed by 7399

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Douglas Godbold

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Guest Editor
Institute of Forest Ecology, Department of Forest and Soil Sciences, Universität für Bodenkultur, Peter Jordan Str 82, 1190 Vienna, Austria
Interests: forest biodiversity; mycorrhizas; C and N cycling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Burenjargal Otgonsuren

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Ecology, School of Agroecology, Mongolian University of Life Sciences, Zaisan 17024, Khan-Uul District, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Interests: boreal forests; mycorrhizas; reclaimation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In forests, the fungal diversity of saprotrophic, pathogenic and symbiotic fungi greatly exceeds tree diversity, even in highly diverse tropical forests. In recent decades, advances in molecular identification methods have vastly increased our knowledge of the fungal diversity in forests. This has increased awareness that within forests, fungal communities regulate many ecosystem functions, but also that these communities undergo changes in both time and space. Communities of symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi regulate ecosystem functions such as mineral nutrient uptake, whereas communities of saprotrophic fungi regulate processes such as litter and deadwood composition. In this Special Issue, we encourage contributions regarding all aspects of fungal diversity in forests. Contributions can be opinion papers, reviews or original research articles from all types of forest systems. Particularly encouraged are studies that attempt to link biodiversity to function.

Prof. Dr. Douglas Godbold
Dr. Burenjargal Otgonsuren
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • forests
  • saprotrophic fungi
  • mycorrhizal fungi
  • pathogenic fungi
  • ecosystem function

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

Jump to: Review

18 pages, 4843 KiB  
Article
Homogeneous Selection Mediated by Nitrate Nitrogen Regulates Fungal Dynamics in Subalpine Forest Soils Subjected to Simulated Restoration
by Haijun Liao, Dehui Li and Chaonan Li
Forests 2024, 15(8), 1385; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15081385 - 7 Aug 2024
Viewed by 788
Abstract
Subalpine forests provide crucial ecosystem services and are increasingly threatened by human alterations like bare-cut slopes from highway construction. External soil spray seeding (ESSS) is often employed to restore these slopes, but the cement it introduces can negatively affect soil fungi, which are [...] Read more.
Subalpine forests provide crucial ecosystem services and are increasingly threatened by human alterations like bare-cut slopes from highway construction. External soil spray seeding (ESSS) is often employed to restore these slopes, but the cement it introduces can negatively affect soil fungi, which are vital for the ecological sustainability of restored slopes. Despite previous extensive discussions about ESSS-restored slopes, fungal dynamics and their underlying ecological mechanisms during ESSS-based restorations still remain elusive. Here, we conducted a 196-day simulation experiment using natural soils from a subalpine forest ecosystem. By using nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequencing, we revealed soil fungal dynamics and their ecological mechanisms during simulated ESSS-based restorations. Results showed a decline in fungal α-diversity and significant shifts in community structures from the initial day to day 46, followed by relative stabilities. These dynamics were mainly characterized by ectomycorrhizal, plant pathogenic, and saprotrophic fungi, with ectomycorrhizal fungi being depleted, while saprotrophic and pathogenic fungi showed enrichment over time. Shifts in nitrate nitrogen (NO3−−N) content primarily regulated these dynamics via mediating homogeneous selections. High NO3−−N levels at later stages (days 46 to 196, especially day 46) might exclude those poorly adapted fungal species, resulting in great diversity loss and community shifts. Despite reduced homogeneous selections and NO3−−N levels after day 46, fungal communities did not show a recovery but continued to undergo changes compared to their initial states, suggesting the less resilient of fungi during ESSS-based restorations. This study highlights the need to manage soil NO3−−N levels for fungal communities during ESSS-based restorations. It provides novel insights for maintaining the ecological sustainability of ESSS-restored slopes and seeking new restoration strategies for cut slopes caused by infrastructure in subalpine forests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fungal Dynamics and Diversity in Forests)
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20 pages, 3983 KiB  
Article
Fungal Community Succession of Populus grandidentata (Bigtooth Aspen) during Wood Decomposition
by Buck T. Castillo, Rima B. Franklin, Kevin R. Amses, Márcio F. A. Leite, Eiko E. Kuramae, Christopher M. Gough, Timothy Y. James, Lewis Faller and John Syring
Forests 2023, 14(10), 2086; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14102086 - 18 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1726
Abstract
Fungal communities are primary decomposers of detritus, including coarse woody debris (CWD). We investigated the succession of fungal decomposer communities in CWD through different stages of decay in the wide-ranging and early successional tree species Populus grandidentata (bigtooth aspen). We compared shifts in [...] Read more.
Fungal communities are primary decomposers of detritus, including coarse woody debris (CWD). We investigated the succession of fungal decomposer communities in CWD through different stages of decay in the wide-ranging and early successional tree species Populus grandidentata (bigtooth aspen). We compared shifts in fungal communities over time with concurrent changes in substrate chemistry and in bacterial community composition, the latter deriving from an earlier study of the same system. We found that fungal communities were highly dynamic during the stages of CWD decay, rapidly colonizing standing dead trees and gradually changing in composition until the late stages of decomposed wood were integrated into soil organic matter. Fungal communities were most similar to neighboring stages of decay, with fungal diversity, abundance, and enzyme activity positively related to percent nitrogen, irrespective of decay class. In contrast to other studies, we found that species diversity remained unchanged across decay classes. Differences in enzyme profiles across CWD decay stages mirrored changes in carbon recalcitrance, as B-D-xylosidase, peroxidase, and Leucyl aminopeptidase activity increased as decomposition progressed. Finally, fungal and bacterial gene abundances were stable and increased, respectively, with the extent of CWD decay, suggesting that fungal-driven decomposition was associated with shifting community composition and associated enzyme functions rather than fungal quantities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fungal Dynamics and Diversity in Forests)
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18 pages, 3554 KiB  
Article
A Statistical Approach to Macrofungal Diversity in a Mediterranean Ecosystem of the Iberian Peninsula Dominated by the Holm Oak (Quercus ilex L. subsp. ballota (Desf.) Samp.)
by Abel Fernández-Ruiz, José Luis Vicente-Villardón, José Sánchez-Sánchez, Prudencio García-Jiménez, Sergio Sánchez-Durán and David Rodríguez-de la Cruz
Forests 2023, 14(8), 1662; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14081662 - 17 Aug 2023
Viewed by 1498
Abstract
The fungal biodiversity associated with a stable plant community appears to vary from year to year. To analyse the annual behaviour in the formation of fruiting bodies, a statistical study of the data obtained for 4 years (2009–2012) in an apparently undisturbed Mediterranean [...] Read more.
The fungal biodiversity associated with a stable plant community appears to vary from year to year. To analyse the annual behaviour in the formation of fruiting bodies, a statistical study of the data obtained for 4 years (2009–2012) in an apparently undisturbed Mediterranean ecosystem dominated by the holm oak (Quercus ilex L. subsp. ballota (Desf.) Samp.), located in the Midwest of the Iberian Peninsula, was carried out. These data were related to the main meteorological variables. The 150 species collected showed a significant annual, monthly, and weekly difference in their fruiting during the collection period. All this implies a variation in the annual fungal fruiting which can modify the moment of when maximum peaks of fruiting appear, their duration, and the number of species that compose them. In addition, the results make it possible to establish an annual behaviour pattern, with sporocarp formation throughout the year and four fruiting groups (two of them in the dry season). They also allow for inferring a possible response to climate change, with a delay in the fruiting of the autumn-winter group and earlier fruit bearing in the winter-spring group. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fungal Dynamics and Diversity in Forests)
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Review

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13 pages, 746 KiB  
Review
Do Ectomycorrhizal Trees Select Ectomycorrhizal Fungi That Enhance Phosphorus Uptake under Nitrogen Enrichment?
by Thomas W. Kuyper and Laura M. Suz
Forests 2023, 14(3), 467; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14030467 - 24 Feb 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2471
Abstract
Globally, forests are impacted by atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition, affecting their structure and functioning above and below ground. All trees form mutualistic root symbioses with mycorrhizal fungi. Of the two kinds of mycorrhizal symbioses of trees, the ectomycorrhizal (EcM) symbiosis is much more [...] Read more.
Globally, forests are impacted by atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition, affecting their structure and functioning above and below ground. All trees form mutualistic root symbioses with mycorrhizal fungi. Of the two kinds of mycorrhizal symbioses of trees, the ectomycorrhizal (EcM) symbiosis is much more sensitive to N enrichment than the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis. Due to increasing N deposition, significant declines in the richness and abundance of EcM fungal species and shifts in community composition and functional traits have been recorded. Under increasing N deposition, ectomycorrhizal forests usually show enhanced foliar mass fractions of N, reduced foliar mass fractions of phosphorus (P), and, consequently, an increasing imbalance in the foliar N:P stoichiometry, ultimately impacting tree performance. The question has been raised of whether, under conditions of high N deposition, EcM trees can select EcM fungi that are both tolerant to high N availability and efficient in the acquisition of P, which could to some extent mitigate the negative impact of N deposition on nutrient balances. Here we evaluate the literature for mechanisms through which certain EcM fungi could increase P acquisition under increased N loading. We find very little evidence that under N enrichment, EcM fungi that have on average higher P efficiency might be selected and thereby prevent or delay tree N:P imbalances. However, methodological issues in some of these studies make it imperative to treat this conclusion with caution. Considering the importance of avoiding tree N:P disbalances under N enrichment and the need to restore EcM forests that have suffered from long-term excess N loading, further research into this question is urgently required. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fungal Dynamics and Diversity in Forests)
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