Soil Mycobiomes in Native European Aspen Forests and Hybrid Aspen Plantations Have Similar Fungal Richness but Different Compositions

Author: mycolabadmin
2024-05-07
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Summary

This research compared soil fungi between tree plantations and natural forests, finding that while both environments support similar numbers of fungi, the types present are quite different. This has important implications for forest management and conservation. Impacts on everyday life: • Helps inform sustainable forestry practices that can produce wood while preserving biodiversity • Provides insights into how tree plantations could reduce pressure on natural forests • Advances understanding of soil health and ecosystem functioning in managed vs natural forests • Contributes to knowledge about climate change mitigation through forestry • Helps assess the environmental impact of converting agricultural land to forest plantations

Background

The cultivation of short-rotation tree species on non-forest land is increasing due to growing demand for woody biomass for future bioeconomy and climate change mitigation. However, forest plantations are often seen as a trade-off between climate benefits and low biodiversity. The diversity and composition of soil fungal biota in plantations of hybrid aspen, one of the most planted tree species for short-rotation forestry in Northern Europe, are poorly studied.

Objective

To obtain baseline knowledge about soil fungal biota and the edaphic, floristic and management factors that drive fungal richness and communities in 18-year-old hybrid aspen plantations on former agricultural soils and compare the fungal biota with those of European aspen stands on native forest land in a 130-year chronosequence.

Results

Native aspen forests showed higher ectomycorrhizal fungal OTU richness than plantations across all age classes. Short-distance type ectomycorrhizal genera dominated in both plantations and forests. Saprotrophic fungal richness was similar between sites but highest in middle-aged native stands. Fungal communities differed significantly between native forests and plantations, with forest communities showing more variation. Soil pH was the key factor explaining soil fungal communities in hybrid aspen stands.

Conclusion

Edaphic factors are more important in describing fungal communities in both native aspen forest sites and hybrid aspen plantation sites than forest thinning, age, or former land use. While first-generation hybrid aspen plantations and native forests have similar overall fungal diversity, their taxonomic and functional composition is notably different. Hybrid aspen plantations can help reduce felling pressure on native forests, but more research is needed to determine if they can replace native aspen forests from a soil biodiversity perspective.

Published in:Frontiers in Microbiology,
Study Type:Comparative Field Study,
Source: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1372938