Summary
Cistus ladanifer scrublands, traditionally considered as unproductive, have nonetheless been observed to produce large quantities of king bolete (Boletus edulis) fruitbodies. These pyrophytic ...scrublands are prone to wildfires, which severely affect fungi, hence the need for fire prevention in producing C. ladanifer scrublands. In addition, B. edulis productions have severely decreased in the last years. A deeper understanding of the B. edulis life cycle and of biotic and abiotic factors influencing sporocarp formation is needed to implement management practices that facilitate B. edulis production. For example, some bacteria likely are involved in sporocarp production, representing a key part in the triple symbiosis (plant–fungus–bacteria). In this study, we used soil DNA metabarcoding in C. ladanifer scrublands to (i) assess the effect of site history and fire prevention treatment on bacterial richness and community composition; (ii) test if there was any correlation between various taxonomic groups of bacteria and mycelial biomass and sporocarp production of B. edulis; and to (iii) identify indicator bacteria associated with the most productive B. edulis sites. Our results show that site history drives bacterial richness and community composition, while fire prevention treatments have a weaker, but still detectable effect, particularly in the senescent plots. Sporocarp production correlated positively with genera in Verrucomicrobia. Several genera, e.g. Azospirillum and Gemmatimonas, were identified as indicators of the most productive sites, suggesting a potential biological role in B. edulis fructification. This study provides a better understanding of the triple symbiosis (plant–fungus–bacteria) involved in C. ladanifer–B. edulis systems.
Cistus shrubs host prompt significant yields of Boletus edulis. Bacteria are likely involved in sporocarp production. We studied the influence of site history and management on bacterial communities under these shrubs. There was a significant influence of site history on bacterial communities and we found indicator bacteria associated to highly productive B. edulis sites.
Most of the Dry Afromontane forests in the northern part of Ethiopia are located around church territories and, hence, are called church forests. These forests are biodiversity islands and provide ...key ecosystem services to local communities. A previous study of church forest fungal species was based on sporocarp collections. However, to obtain a complete picture of the fungal community, the total fungal community present in the soil needs to be analyzed. This information is important to integrate church forests into global biodiversity conservation strategies and to understand what actions are required to conserve church forests and their biological components, including fungi, which are known for their exceptionally high diversity levels. We assessed soil fungal communities in three church forests using ITS2 rDNA metabarcoding. In total, 5152 fungal operational taxonomic units representing 16 fungal phyla were identified. Saprotrophs followed by ectomycorrhizal fungi and animal pathogens dominated fungal communities. Significant differences in diversity and richness were observed between forests. Non-metric multidimensional scaling confirmed that fungal community composition differed in each forest. The composition was influenced by climatic, edaphic, vegetation, and spatial variables. Linear relationships were found between tree basal area and the abundance of total fungi and trophic groups. Forest management strategies that consider cover, tree density, enrichment plantations of indigenous host tree species, and environmental factors would offer suitable habitats for fungal diversity, production, and function in these forest systems. The application of the baseline information obtained in this study could assist other countries with similar forest conservation issues due to deforestation and forest fragmentation.
•Sporocarp diversity and production in a wildfire-prone mosaic landscape study.•Host species and their age determine the sporocarps productivity and diversity.•Cistus young stands provide higher ...levels of productivity and diversity.•Less diverse fungal community was observed in old Quercus stands.•Mosaic landscape fire-prevention management would achieve greater sporocarp production and richness.
Landscapes of oak (Quercus) forests alternated with extensive fields dominated by rockroses (Cistus) are widespread throughout the Mediterranean Basin. Due to the recurrency of fires and the mycological potential of both Quercus forests and Cistus fields, adequate management of this landscape is a key forest management objective. Although both Quercus and Cistus species are considered super-productive in terms of fungal production and diversity, fungal diversity and productivity vary depending on the stand age and structure. The aim of this study was to assess the complementary mycological potential of these ecosystems by studying sporocarp production, diversity, and community composition to elucidate management practices that would enhance fungal diversity and productivity within a fire management framework. We collected sporocarps over a period of four consecutive years (2012–2015) in young Cistus plots (1-m tall Cistus), old Cistus plots (2-m tall Cistus), and Quercus Forest plots. Our analyses showed that age as well as dominant vegetation influences sporocarp production, diversity, and richness, with young Cistus stands most suited to high levels of sporocarp productivity and diversity. In addition, a progressive restructuring of the fungal community was observed from a large, diverse community in Cistus early-stage stands to a smaller, less diverse but well-defined community in Quercus stands, transiting through an intermediate composition in old Cistus fields. Based on our findings, we suggest that a management process that not only favors stand rejuvenation would achieve greater sporocarp production and richness, including edible commercial species, while reducing the amount of fuel. In addition, the differentiated diversity of the Quercus stands plays an important role in terms of landscape diversity, being necessary the recommendation of a rejuvenation management in order to protect this stands associated diversity. We propose that these goals could be best achieved with a mosaic landscape model to connect the different stages of succession, enabling greater interconnectivity and, hence, allowing the presence of different “fungal stages” at the landscape level.
•Basidiomycota and mycorrhizal fungi were richer in high forest stands.•Ascomycota and Saprotrophs were more abundant in coppice stands.•The richness of C/SD/MDS ECM was higher and related to ...scarcity of water due to grazing pressure.•pH, carbon and nitrogen drive the fungal community from a young saprotrophic to an old pathogenic stand.•Silvo-pasture practices create a wider and diversified ecosystem.
Quercus pyrenaica-dominated forests are very widely distributed in Mediterranean ecosystems. Traditional forest use, such as coppicing to obtain firewood or livestock grazing under silvopastoral systems, and the current social abandonment of the rural environment have given rise to forest structures of different ages and at different stages of development. Thus, on the one hand, there are large areas of Q. pyrenaica coppice systems that produce a large amount of biomass that have a very high risk of driving forest fires. On the other hand, dehesas, which have very low tree density and are composed of very old trees that are susceptible to different types of environmental stress and have serious regeneration problems and a weak phytosanitary status. In addition, previous studies have suggested that the production of economically valuable edible mushrooms is negatively impacted by silvicultural management. To determine the effects of land management on these ecosystems, we analyzed the soil fungal communities associated with coppice stands (i.e., high-density coppice), high forest stands (i.e., low-density coppice that received silvicultural management 15 years ago to reduce the risk of wildfire), and old stands (i.e., dehesas) to assess their potential ecological roles in their conservation and the diversity of edible mushrooms. We also analyzed the edaphic variables associated with these systems (carbon, pH and the carbon/nitrogen ratio) to understand the dynamics of these fungal communities. We observed two distinguishable communities: pathogen-, parasite-, and endophyte-dominated dehesas and saprotroph- and ectomycorrhizal (ECM)-dominated coppice stands, with a mixed composition in high forest stands. ECM fungi correlated with stand age and structure, showing higher richness levels in high forest stands, particularly ECM fungi with short hyphal exploration type. Finally, the influence of stand age and structure due to land management significantly affected the variety of some edible genera, such as Boletus, Tuber or Terfezia.
Long-term field-data series were used to fit a mushroom productivity model. Simulations enabled us to predict the consequences of management and climate scenarios on potential mushroom productivity. ...Mushrooms play an important ecological and economic role in forest ecosystems. Human interest in collecting mushrooms for self-consumption is also increasing, giving forests added value for providing recreational services. Pinus pinaster Ait. is a western Mediterranean species of great economic and ecological value. Over 7.5% of the total European distribution of the species is found on the Castilian Plateau in central Spain, where a great variety of mushrooms can be harvested. The aim of this study was to model and simulate mushroom productivity in Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) ecosystems in northern Spain under different silvicultural and climatic scenarios. A mixed model was fitted that related total mushroom productivity to stand and weather variables. The model was uploaded to the SiManFor platform to study the effect of different silvicultural and climatic scenarios on mushroom productivity. The selected independent variables in the model were the ratio between stand basal area and density as a stand management indicator, along with precipitation and average temperatures for September and November. The simulation results also showed that silviculture had a positive impact on mushroom productivity, which was higher in scenarios with moderate and high thinning intensities. The impact was highly positive in wetter scenarios, though only slightly positive and negative responses were observed in hotter and drier scenarios, respectively. Silviculture had a positive impact on mushroom productivity, especially in wetter scenarios. Precipitation had greater influence than temperature on total mushroom productivity in Maritime pine stands. The results of this paper will enable forest managers to develop optimal management approaches for P. pinaster forests that integrate Non-Wood Forest Products resources.
•Fragmented church forests in northern Ethiopia are rich in biodiversity.•We recorded a total of 188 macrofungal species, and 68 of these were edible.•Macrofungi diversity and production was driven ...by vascular tree diversity.•Macrofungal communities differ across forests and soil fertility gradients.•The conservation of each church forest add diversity and availability resources at landscape level.
The Dry Afromontane forests in Northern Ethiopia have been cleared for agriculture and reduced to small and isolated fragments. Most of these forests are located around church territories and are they called church forests. The church forests are known to be biodiversity islands and provide key ecosystem services to local communities. However, to date, the fungal resources of these forests have not been assessed and, therefore, the contribution of fungi to their conservation value is unknown. In 2019, we investigated the fungal diversity of three Dry Afromontane church forests. In each forest, we established nine permanent plots (2 m × 50 m), which were surveyed weekly during the rainy season to quantify the fungal diversity and sporocarp production levels. Explanatory variables were also analyzed to determine their relationship with macrofungal species composition. We collected 13,736 sporocarps corresponding to 188 taxa. Of these, 81% were saprotrophic and 14% were ectomycorrhizal. Sixty-eight species were edible, including economically valuable species such as Tricholoma and Termitomyces. This suggests that these fragmented forest systems could be managed to provide valuable non-timber forest products such as mushrooms and socioeconomic benefits for local communities. Although many species were present in all three forests, some were only found in one forest, highlighting the importance of conserving individual forests. The correlation of the Shannon diversity indices of the two communities showed a positive trend in spite of thelack of correlationbetween their richness. Macrofungal communities as a whole were influenced by edaphic, spatial and climate variables. This study indicates that church forests support a wide diversity of fungi, including potentially novel fungal species, and highlights the need for forest managers to consider the importance of fungi in forest ecosystem management and to provide habitats that will maintain fungal diversity and sporocarp production when planning conservation strategies.
Aim of study: To review and provide all-purpose information about wild mushrooms in Ethiopia and to create awareness for conservation and use of mycological resources.Area of study: We focused mainly ...on Ethiopia, where information about wild mushrooms is scanty and their status is unknown under the rampant degradation of the habitats.Main results: We reviewed all relevant references related to wild mushrooms and their ecological niches, cultural practices and species used for cultivation as well as the anthropogenic factors affecting the conservation of fungal diversity.Research highlights: This review summarizes issues related to the diversity of wild mushrooms, the main ecological niches and their associated fungal species, and mushroom cultivation practices in Ethiopia. Moreover, threats and the need for future conservation of wild mushrooms in the country are also reported. This review paper can serve as base line information and indicator for further mycological studies in Ethiopia as well as in other developing countries with similar scenarios.
The management of the forests of Pinus sylvestris L. in north-western Iberia has been subjected to intense debate as the tree has been long considered an alien species while it has been widely used ...as a major species in forest restoration throughout the last 50 years. In the light of new palaeoecological data, we identify here a new late-Holocene population of P. sylvestris outside of the currently known Holocene range, also representing the westernmost continental Holocene subfossil record of this tree. Macro- and megafossil data from Montes de León (northwest Spain) occur in an area where oral testimonies of peasants suggested the occurrence of historical pine forests. The relevance of this finding and the reviewed regional palaeoecological data is crucial for both management and conservation actions. Here, we primarily discuss the implications of the naturalness of pinewoods within the Natura 2000 network and analyse the linkages between abrupt landscape changes involving pinewood shrinkage and historical events, such as Roman occupation and mediaeval livestock development. As a result, a new role for pinewoods in the management of protected areas is proposed.
Oak forests accompanied by Cistus species are a common landscape in the Mediterranean basin. It is argued that Cistus dominated fields serve as recruitment areas for Quercus seedlings, as they help ...in the transmission of the fungal community through vegetative succession in these ecosystems. To test these assumptions, we analyzed the fungal community in terms of its richness and composition, taking into account the effects of host (Oaks vs. Cistus) and forest structure, mainly based on age. Edaphic variables related to the different structures were also analyzed to examine how they evolve through succession and relate to shifts in the fungal community. No differences in fungal richness were observed between old Cistus stands and younger Quercus, while a brief increase in ECM richness was observed. Community composition also showed a greater overlap between old Cistus and young Quercus stands. We suggest that the most important step in fungal transfer from one host to another is the shift from the oldest Cistus fields to the youngest Quercus stands, with the genera Amanita, Cortinarius, Lactarius, Inocybe, Russula, and Tomentella probably playing a major role. In summary, our work has also revealed the network of fungal community structure in the succession of Cistus to Oak stands, it would suggest that the fungi share niches and significantly enhance the ecological setting of the transition from Cistus to Oak stands.
Mediterranean ecosystems are frequently invaded by pyrophytic scrubs such as Halimium lasianthum that colonize areas traditionally used by livestock. A diverse fungal community is associated with ...this kind of vegetation, playing an important ecological role in these ecosystems. However, uncontrolled expansion of these shrubs considerably increases the risk of wildfires in these stands and, hence, fire-prevention treatments are needed. To investigate the long-term effects of two different forest-fire-prevention treatments on the soil fungal community, we analyzed these communities 9 years after prescribed burning or mechanical shredding were carried out in scrubland dominated by H. lasianthum. Neither of the fire-prevention treatments had a negative long-term effect on the abundance or richness of ectomycorrhizal fungi. However, saprotrophs and lichenized fungi experienced negative effects. Soil fertility significantly affected the distribution of fungi according to their functional groups, and pH was the most influential variable in terms of the distribution of edible species. Our findings indicate that forest management practices to prevent forest fires does not negatively affect the fungal community in the long-term, but for lichens and decomposers. Moreover, prescribed burning is suggested as a more economical way of reducing the risk of wildfires without affecting the ecology of the fungal community.
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