Studies on the relation of the diversity of wooddecaying fungi to elevation are scarce, and their results are not consistent. We found that the elevation gradient and structural characteristics of a Picea abies forest underlie changes in the species richness and composition of wooddecomposing fungi. The occurrence of macrofungal sporocarps on logs on the ground was recorded over 3 years in 12 study plots (total area 2.4 ha) on a mountain slope (1,220-1,335 m) in the Bohemian Forest, Czech Republic. The majority of species was more abundant in plots with a high mean volume of logs. The mean volume of logs was negatively related to elevation, which in turn had a negative influence on the occurrence of fungi. A negative relation of the high total volume of standing snags to the occurrence of fungi may be due to recent mortality caused by a bark beetle outbreak, albeit followed by the input of fresh logs that favoured a limited group of species. The diversity of fungi was also explained by the mean volumes of logs separated into decay classes. Numbers of red-listed species increased with the mean volume of logs and decreased with elevation. Large logs in later stages of decay provide essential habitat for the formation of sporocarps of red-listed species.

Rapid destruction of forest habitats has led to the establishment of protected areas in formerly managed forests with the aim of restoring biodiversity. Conservation in spruce-dominated reserves is often contradicted by salvage logging after insect outbreaks. Here we study the community characteristics of wood decaying fungi in a high montane Norway Spruce forest with three different management types: (1) a formerly managed area disturbed by a large-scale bark beetle outbreak, (2) an area with continuous salvage logging, and (3) an old-growth forest. Bark beetle activity in the disturbed area resulted in downed wood amounts comparable to those of the old-growth forest. However, species accumulation curves for the disturbed forest were more similar to those of the logged forest than to those of the old-growth forest. This arose because of differences in the diversity of wood decay classes; wood decay in the disturbed forest was more homogeneous. Logs in the disturbed forest originated almost exclusively from bark-beetle-infested trees, but the causes of tree mortality in the old-growth forest were manifold. Although most red-listed species were clearly confined to old-growth forest, Antrodiella citrinella was most abundant in the disturbed forest. Our analysis furthermore showed that the between stand scale is the most effective unit for diversity wood-decaying fungi. We therefore suggest a conservation strategy for preserving old-growth forests and establishing protected forest stands to enhance structural heterogeneity in spruce-dominated forests. For this, a careful screening of protected areas throughout Europe is necessary to provide managers with guidelines for conservation.

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