Impact of local forest composition on soil fungal communities in a mixed boreal forest

Aims While fungi are key drivers of the carbon cycle and obligate symbionts of trees, the link between plant-fungal interactions and landscape vegetation changes has been largely overlooked. Our aim was to test whether a local difference in dominant tree species would shape the composition of soil f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plant and soil 2018-11, Vol.432 (1/2), p.345-357
Main Authors: Nagati, Mélissande, Roy, Mélanie, Manzi, Sophie, Richard, Franck, Desrochers, Annie, Gardes, Monique, Bergeron, Yves
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Boreal forests
Carbon cycle
Composition
Correlation analysis
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
DNA sequencing
Dominant species
Ecology
Ectomycorrhizas
Environmental aspects
Forest dynamics
Forest soils
Forests
Fungi
Life Sciences
Mixed forests
Nutrient dynamics
Nutrients
Observations
Plant Physiology
Plant Sciences
Plant species
Regular Article
Soil dynamics
Soil microbiology
Soil microorganisms
Soil nutrients
Soil Science & Conservation
Species richness
Symbionts
Taiga
Vegetation changes
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Summary:Aims While fungi are key drivers of the carbon cycle and obligate symbionts of trees, the link between plant-fungal interactions and landscape vegetation changes has been largely overlooked. Our aim was to test whether a local difference in dominant tree species would shape the composition of soil fungi communities. Methods Fungal communities were described using next-generation DNA sequencing. Composite soil samples were collected in four paired sites (represented by one pure aspen stand and one pure spruce stand) and soil nutriments were measured. Results Of the more than 1119 OTUs, 31.6% were Ascomycota while 27.8% were Basidiomycota, 15% were ectomycorrhizal fungi whereas 19.7% were saprotrophic. Communities displayed high species turnover among forest types rather than differences in species richness. Among tested predictors, the dominant tree species explained around 11 % of fungal community variation. pH and soil nutrients were also strong predictors of fungal communities. Conclusions Our study revealed strong correlations between dominant tree species and fungal communities at a local scale and raised questions regarding the impact of fungal communities on forest soil nutrient dynamics.
ISSN:0032-079X
1573-5036
DOI:10.1007/s11104-018-3806-3