Fungi and fire in Australian ecosystems: a review of current knowledge, management implications and future directions

Abstract

Fungi are essential components of all ecosystems in roles including symbiotic partners, decomposers and nutrient cyclers and as a source of food for vertebrates and invertebrates. Fire changes the environment in which fungi live by affecting soil structure, nutrient availability, organic and inorganic substrates and other biotic components with which fungi interact, particularly mycophagous animals. We review the literature on fire and fungi in Australia, collating studies that include sites with different time since fire or different fire regimes. The studies used a variety of methods for survey and identification of fungi and focussed on different groups of fungi, with an emphasis on fruit-bodies of epigeal macrofungi and a lack of studies on microfungi in soil or plant tissues. There was a lack of replication of fire treatment effects in some studies. Nevertheless, most studies reported some consequence of fire on the fungal community. Studies on fire and fungi were concentrated in eucalypt forest in south-west and south-eastern Australia, and were lacking for ecosystems such as grasslands and tropical savannahs. The effects of fire on fungi are highly variable and depend on factors such as soil and vegetation type and variation in fire intensity and history, including the length of time between fires. There is a post-fire flush of fruit-bodies of pyrophilous macrofungi, but there are also fungi that prefer long unburnt vegetation. The few studies that tested the effect of fire regimes in relation to the intervals between burns did not yield consistent results. The functional roles of fungi in ecosystems and the interactions of fire with these functions are explained and discussed. Responses of fungi to fire are reviewed for each fungal trophic group, and also in relation to interactions between fungi and vertebrates and invertebrates. Recommendations are made to include monitoring of fungi in large-scale fire management research programs and to integrate the use of morphological and molecular methods of identification. Preliminary results suggest that fire mosaics promote heterogeneity in the fungal community. Management of substrates could assist in preserving fungal diversity in the absence of specific information on fungi.

Impact of fire on the macrofungal diversity in scrub jungles of south-west India

“…As an ecological factor, fire influences the atmosphere, soil, flora, fauna and microorganisms (McMullan-Fisher et al 2011; Fischer et al 2013; Kurth et al 2013). Besides, fire is also responsible for complete or partial elimination of organic matter deposited on the soil depending on its intensity (low, medium and high) leading to indirect effect on fungal growth and perpetuation (Kennedy et al 2015).…”

“…microbial composition, microbial biomass and mineral sequestration) properties (Doerr & Cerdà 2005; McMullan-Fisher et al 2011). Impact of fire on fungi varies depending on several factors such as characteristics of soil, type of vegetation and intensity of fire (McMullan-Fisher et al 2011; Kennedy et al 2015). Ratkowsky and Gates (2009) have demonstrated succession of macrofungi related to time since fire in the lowland eucalypt forest of Southern Tasmania.…”

CrassisporiumandRomagnesiella: two new genera of dark-spored Agaricales

“…The genus Pachylepyrium Singer (Agaricales, Strophariaceae; type: P. fulvidula (Singer) Singer), however, contains seven accepted species that differ from G. clavus by their thick-walled spores typically with a germ pore and presence of a veil. Furthermore, most species are carbonicolous (Claridge, Trappe, & Hansen, 2009;McMullan-Fisher et al, 2011), fruiting among burnt debris or on burnt ground in co-occurrence with bryophytes (viz. Funaria Hedwig) or on wood (lignicolous) (Moser, 2000;Singer, 1986).…”

How belowground interactions contribute to the coexistence of mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal species in severely phosphorus-impoverished hyperdiverse ecosystems

“…Mycorrhizal fungi and the formation of mycorrhizal networks become pivotal for exchanges later when the fungal communities have completely re-established. In general, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) and ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungal abundance is reduced shortly after fire, and subsequent recovery with time and litter accumulation occurs without any long-term effects on colonisation or spore abundance (McMullan-Fisher et al 2011). The availability of N and P generally follow the pattern shown here, but is mainly dependent on fire intensity (Burrows and Wardell-Johnson 2003) The role of mycorrhizas in defence against pathogens Nutrient uptake is widely accepted as the primary role of mycorrhizal fungi in contributing to plant fitness (Smith et al 2015).…”