Macrofungi on fallen oak trunks in the Białowieża Virgin Forest – ecological role of trunk parameters and surrounding vegetation.

Abstract

All groups of macrofungi were recorded on 32 large fallen trunks of pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) in various decay stages in the strictly protected zone of Białowieża National Park, Poland. The total number of species was 187 with 4-38 species per trunk. The mycobiota of individual trunks was unique, consisting of a variable set of several frequent species, a high number of infrequent to rare ones, and a considerable proportion of mycorrhizal fungi and species preferring conifer wood. Relations between trunk parameters, surrounding vegetation and fungal occurrences were analysed using multivariate statistical methods. The number of fungal species per trunk was significantly correlated with trunk orientation, which reflects the heat load via forest canopy gap, trunk size parameters, percentage of bark cover and contact with the soil. The species-richest trunks were those covered by bark, of larger volume (thick, long), not exposed to heat from afternoon sun, but, simultaneously, with lower canopy cover. Orientation (azimuth) of the fallen trunks proved to be significant also for the fungal species composition of a particular trunk, which also reflected trunk size characteristics, its moss/bark cover and contact with the soil. Presence of some dominants (Ganoderma applanatum, Mycena inclinata, Kretzschmaria deusta, Xylobolus frustulatus) had a significant effect on fungal community composition. Some herbs requiring nutrient-rich soils occurred in the vicinity of trunks with a larger contact area with the soil and in later stages of decay. The process of oak trunk decay in relation to fungi and surrounding vegetation is outlined.

The Known, the Unknown, and the Expected: 130 Years of Research on Non-Lichenized Fungi and Fungus-Like Organisms in the Białowieża Primeval Forest, Poland

“…Scattered reports indicate that BPF can be indeed recognized as the essential fungal refuge both in Poland and in Europe [6,10,11,[36][37][38][39]. This statement is well supported by the statistics provided by Karasiński [39] and Kujawa and co-workers [11,40] for macromycetes: species listed in BPF account for ca.…”

“…The continuous forest cover has been present there for close to 12,000 years, and substantial fragments of close-to-primeval forest have survived [6]. Natural and best-preserved forest stands show a high richness of plant species, varied age and layer structure, as well as an abundance of dead wood lying on the forest floor [1,4,[7][8][9][10] (Figure 2).…”

“…The Białowieża Primeval Forest, and the Białowieża National Park, in particular, are often considered a refuge for diverse groups of organisms [4,6,7,11,12], as well as a model ecosystem for the study of the ecology of the natural temperate forest [10,[13][14][15][16]. Ecological processes occur naturally and stimulate the forest's self-renewal without human intervention [17,18].…”

Little-known in Ukraine species of corticioid fungi from Prypiat-Stokhid National Nature Park

“…Поширення в Україні: відомий лише за однією знахідкою А. Пілата (Pilát, 1940) (Hallenberg, Toma, 1987;Yurchenko, 2003;Bernicchia, Gorjón, 2010;Hardtke et al, 2015;Karadelev et al, 2018;Holec et al, 2019); Азія (Грузія, Китай, Росія, Туреччина) (Ghobad-Nejhad et al, 2009;Shiryaev et al, 2010;Dai, 2011); Північна Америка (Канада, США) (Burt, 1926;Zmitrovich, 2008). Плодові тіла розпростерті, пелікулярні, завтов.…”

Untitled

“…Поширення у світі: Європа (Австрія, Білорусь, Данія, Естонія, Іспанія, Італія, Македонія, Нідерланди Португалія, Росія, Румунія, Сербія, Словаччина, Сполучене Королівство, Україна, Фінляндія, Франція, Хорватія, Швейцарія, Швеція) (Hallenberg, Toma, 1987;Yurchenko, 2003;Bernicchia, Gorjón, 2010;Hardtke et al, 2015;Karadelev et al, 2018;Holec et al, 2019); Азія (Грузія, Китай, Росія, Туреччина) (Ghobad-Nejhad et al, 2009;Shiryaev et al, 2010;Dai, 2011); Північна Америка (Канада, США) (Burt, 1926;Zmitrovich, 2008). Плодові тіла розпростерті, пелікулярні, завтов.…”