Responses of Soil Fungal Populations and Communities to the Thinning of <i>Cryptomeria Japonica</i> Forests

Abstract

Forest management activities, such as tree thinning, alter forest ecology, including key components of forest ecosystems, including fungal communities. In the present study, we investigate the effects of forest thinning intensity on the populations and structures of fungal soil communities in the Cryptomeria japonica forests of central Taiwan as well as the dynamics of soil fungi communities in these forests after a thinning disturbance. Although the populations of soil fungi significantly increased in the first 6 months after thinning, these increases had subsided by 9 months. This pulse was attributed to a transient increase in the populations of rapid colonizers. A multiple regression analysis positively correlated fungal populations with organic matter content and cellulase activity. Thinning initially provided large amounts of fresh leaves and roots as nutrient-rich substrates for soil fungi. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) profiles indicated that soil fungal communities significantly differed among plots with 0% (control), 25%, and 50% tree thinning in the first 21 months post-thinning, with no significant differences being observed after 21 months. The fungal communities of these forest soils also changed with the seasons, and an interactive relationship was detected between seasons and treatments. Seasonal variations in fungal communities were the most pronounced after 50% tree thinning. The results of the present study demonstrate that the soil fungi of Taiwanese C. japonica forests are very sensitive to thinning disturbances, but recover stability after a relatively short period of time.

Fine Spatial Scale Variation of Soil Microbial Communities under European Beech and Norway Spruce

“…These changes are associated with nutrient input from fresh litter, which occurs in temperate deciduous forests each autumn (Voříšková et al, 2014). In accordance with our study, Lin et al (2016) reported seasonal shifts of fungi in coniferous forests. The air and soil temperatures at both forest stands were higher in early summer, whereas the soil water content was increased in autumn (Table S6).…”

Long-Term Thinning Does not Significantly Affect Soil Water-Stable Aggregates and Diversity of Bacteria and Fungi in Chinese Fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata) Plantations in Eastern China

“…Overby et al [2] also reported that the richness and abundance of soil bacterial communities, based on the phospholipid fatty acids method, were not affected 40 years after thinning treatment in a ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forest in the Southwestern United States, while the creation of clear-cut openings in forests increased the abundance and richness of AM fungal propagules. Several short-term studies have reported that soil microbial biomass and community structure are significantly altered one to five years after thinning treatments [18,65,67,68]. A recent meta-analysis of soil microbial biomass responses to forest disturbances indicated that partial harvesting (thinning) had no significant effect on soil bacterial and fungal biomass, while clear-cutting significantly reduced soil bacterial and fungal biomass [37].…”

Effects of Thinning on Soil Organic Carbon Fractions and Soil Properties in Cunninghamia lanceolata Stands in Eastern China

“…As we mentioned above, the improvement of soil fertility might be related to understory vegetation and litter input. Although many previous studies have reported the changes of soil physical [3,58,60], chemical [3,58], or biological [71,72] properties after thinning treatments, while they failed to evaluate the overall soil fertility status. Particularly, most of these studies mainly focused on carbon and nitrogen [73].…”