Post-fire, seasonal and annual dynamics of the ectomycorrhizal community in a Quercus ilex L. forest over a 3-year period

Abstract

Two study plots, burned and control, were established in autumn 1998 in a Quercus ilex forest located in northern Spain, part of which had been affected by a low intensity fire in 1994. Soil samples for ectomycorrhizae (ECM) were taken over a 3-year period in each study plot in spring, summer, autumn and winter. ECM morphotypes were identified and the relative abundance of each morphotype in each soil sample calculated, along with species richness, Shannon diversity index and percentage of mycorrhization in each soil sample. The relative abundance of certain ECM morphotypes differed between burned and control plots, and the percentage of mycorrhizal tips was significantly lower in the burned than in the control plot. Nevertheless, there were no significant differences in the diversity, species richness or species composition of the ECM community in the burned and control plots. The dominant ECM morphotypes in both stands were Cenococcum geophilum and several thelephoroid fungi. Sphaerosporella brunnea and Pisolithus tinctorius thrived especially in the burned plot, whereas three ectomycorrhizal morphotypes assigned to the genus Hebeloma were especially abundant in the control plot. There was no significant variation in the relative abundance of the ECM morphotypes between seasons, but ECM community species richness was highest in autumn and lowest in summer. The percentage of mycorrhizal tips reached a maximum in winter, with its minimum in autumn. Collection of samples over the 3-year period also enabled us to detect a significant increase in percentage of ECM colonisation in the burned stand over time.

The effects of fire severity on ectomycorrhizal colonization and morphometric features in Pinus pinaster Ait. seedlings

“…Our results are in agreement with a large body of research on Mediterranean dry forests (de Román & Miguel, 2005, Martín-Pinto et al, 2006b, Buscardo et al, 2010, Hernández-Rodríguez et al, 2013 and specifically with some studies conducted also with P. pinaster (Buscardo et al, 2011, Gassibe et al, 2011, Sousa et al, 2011. Nonetheless, the overall evidence in this field cannot be considered as conclusive yet.…”

“…All root tips were classified morphologically as mycorrhizal vs. non-mycorrhizal or "non vital" (Agerer, 1991, 1987-2002, de Román & de Miguel, 2005, Scattolin et al, 2008, using a Leica M3 dissecting microscope and a 15x magnification stereomicroscope. The percentage of mycorrhization per site, overall and at each of the two vertical sections, was calculated by dividing the number of mycorrhizal root tips by the total number of root tips (Brundrett et al, 1996).…”

Ectomycorrhizal communities in a Mediterranean forest ecosystem dominated by Quercus ilex: seasonal dynamics and response to drought in the surface organic horizon

“…None dealt with anthropogenic coppices, despite the dominance of this vegetation type in the Mediterranean area. The sole exception is a preliminary descriptive study of morphotypes of Ectomycorrhizae in presumed species-rich ECM assemblages (de Román and de Miguel 2005). Unfortunately, morphotyping alone does not completely resolve species identification (Horton and Bruns 2001).…”

“…Mycorrhizae of Cenococcum geophilum and those of a dominant Thelephoraceae species (Tomentella sp1), two abundant species representing more than one third of the total number of ECM tips on Q. ilex roots, were identified by morphology (de Román and de Miguel 2005;Richard et al 2005). However, in order to verify their identification, 30 mycorrhizae of each of these two abundant morphotypes were randomly selected from different soil cores and sequenced.…”

A sampling method for estimating sporocarps production of wild edible mushrooms of social and economic interest

“…All studies about production and diversity of mushroom populations and communities rely on an inventory stage centred on sporocarps (Ohenoja, 1988;Peter et al, 2001;Taylor, 2002;Egli et al, 2006), mycorrhizae (de Roman and de Miguel, 2005), sporocarps and ectomycorrhizae (Clavería, 2007) or mycelium in the soil (Suz et al, 2006;Parladé et al, 2007).…”