Ecological studies of ectomycorrhizal fungi: an analysis of survey methods

Abstract

In this paper, by reviewing ecological studies of ectomycorrhizal fungi where both fruiting bodies and mycorrhizal root tips were simultaneously surveyed, we investigate whether the diversity data obtained by the two methods leads to similar conclusions about the underlying ecological processes of interest. Despite discrepancies in identifying species, we found that both survey methods identified similar responses by ectomycorrhizal fungal communities to experimental manipulations, successional changes and environmental disturbances (exceptions are short-term or low-level disturbances). By analysing the results of the reviewed studies, we found a positive relationship to exist between fungal species richness and (i) the host plant age and (ii) the number of putative host plant species, independently of the applied survey method. Of the methodological variables, only the number of soil samples (for the below-ground approach) and the duration of the study (for the above-ground approach) have a significant effect on the EMF species richness, with species richness increasing with both. Our investigation also shows that in 73% of the reviewed studies (27 out of 37) a greater species richness was found by fruiting body surveys than by methods based on sampling of the root tips. Based on these findings, we argue for the continuation of fruiting body surveys in order to gain rapid and still valuable information on ecosystems over a wide spatial and temporal range and strongly recommend their use in long-term ecosystem monitoring projects.

Ectomycorrhizal communities above and below ground and truffle productivity in a Tuber aestivum orchard

“…Ectomycorrhizal communities on root tips in natural and cultivated truffières have been amply investigated (Donnini and Bencivenga, 1995;Donnini et al, 1999;Murat et al, 2005;Baciarelli Falini et al, 2006;Pruett et al, 2008;Águeda et al, 2010;González-Armada et al, 2010;Iotti et al, 2010;Benucci et al, 2011;Garcia-Barreda and Reyna, 2012;Leonardi et al, 2013). However, according to Tóth and Barta (2010) very few studies have simulEctomycorrhizal communities and truffle productivity 335 taneously analyzed fungal species both above and below ground in relation to varying environmental factors or with the aim of determining their suitability as indicators of environmental change. In particular, there is limited information available on the ecology of ectomycorrhizae that combines both communities in truffle environments (Donnini et al, 2008;Salerni et al, 2011).…”

Concordance between vascular plant and macrofungal community composition in broadleaf deciduous forests in central Italy

“…To quantify their abundance, their frequency was recorded as the number of carpophores (fruiting bodies) > 1 mm per species in each plot (Arnolds 1981). Although above-ground fruiting bodies do not necessarily represent the abundance of fungi, they provide reliable information concerning forest diversity without excessive effort and cost (Tóth & Barta 2010). Each macrofungal taxon was attributed to the most likely trophic group, according to Arnolds et al (1995) and to personal field observations.…”

The macrofungal diversity and community of Atlantic oak <i>(Quercus petraea</i> and <i>Q. robur)</i> forests in Ireland

“…However, in the absence of costly Next Generation environmental sequencing technologies, it is still a relevant and useful method of examining fungal ecology in the field (Toth & Barta, 2010). Associated work relating the belowground (ECM roots) to the above-ground (ECM sporocarp) communities of these oak plots found large differences between the taxa richness and ECM communities of both systems (O'Hanlon & Harrington, 2012a).…”