Soil fungal communities in young Norway spruce-dominant stands: footprints of former land use and selective thinning

Kļaviņa, Dārta; Tedersoo, Leho; Agan, Ahto; Adamson, Kalev; Bitenieks, Krišs; Gaitnieks, T.; Drenkhan, Rein

doi:10.1007/s10342-022-01454-8

Cited by 11 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…in natural forests compared to short rotation coppice was explained by soil water content and pH. Here, we showed that soil pH had a significant impact on the fungal communities of both plantations and natural forests, except for the plant pathogen and AM fungal communities in native aspen stands, a fact known from several studies (Genevieve et al, 2019; Tedersoo et al, 2020 , Likulunga et al, 2021 ; Klavina et al, 2022 ). Other studies have revealed that AM communities are strongly affected by soil pH ( Dumbrell et al, 2010 ); whereas their relative abundances are positively influenced by soil N content and negatively by soil P ( Koorem et al, 2014 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 66%

“…The present study found no effect of the nearest forest on plantation fungal richness. A previous study on Norway spruce stands (former agricultural land and forest sites) found that differences among soil fungal communities were mainly influenced by soil pH and sampling site ( Klavina et al, 2022 ). Spatial distribution analysis ( Ramsfield et al, 2020 ) showed that undisturbed forests provide a source of EcM fungi, allowing them to disperse into reclaimed areas, and that overall fungal richness is even higher than that of the adjacent undisturbed forest within 10–20 m from the forest edge.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Soil mycobiomes in native European aspen forests and hybrid aspen plantations have a similar fungal richness but different compositions, mainly driven by edaphic and floristic factors

Rähn,

Lutter,

Riit

et al. 2024

Front. Microbiol.

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BackgroundThe cultivation of short-rotation tree species on non-forest land is increasing due to the growing demand for woody biomass for the future bioeconomy and to mitigate climate change impacts. However, forest plantations are often seen as a trade-off between climate benefits and low biodiversity. The diversity and composition of soil fungal biota in plantations of hybrid aspen, one of the most planted tree species for short-rotation forestry in Northern Europe, are poorly studied.MethodsThe goal of this study was to obtain baseline knowledge about the soil fungal biota and the edaphic, floristic and management factors that drive fungal richness and communities in 18-year-old hybrid aspen plantations on former agricultural soils and compare the fungal biota with those of European aspen stands on native forest land in a 130-year chronosequence. Sites were categorized as hybrid aspen (17–18-year-old plantations) and native aspen stands of three age classes (8–29, 30–55, and 65-131-year-old stands). High-throughput sequencing was applied to soil samples to investigate fungal diversity and assemblages.ResultsNative aspen forests showed a higher ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungal OTU richness than plantations, regardless of forest age. Short-distance type EcM genera dominated in both plantations and forests. The richness of saprotrophic fungi was similar between native forest and plantation sites and was highest in the middle-aged class (30–55-year-old stands) in the native aspen stands. The fungal communities of native forests and plantations were significantly different. Community composition varied more, and the natural forest sites were more diverse than the relatively homogeneous plantations. Soil pH was the best explanatory variable to describe soil fungal communities in hybrid aspen stands. Soil fungal community composition did not show any clear patterns between the age classes of native aspen stands.ConclusionWe conclude that edaphic factors are more important in describing fungal communities in both native aspen forest sites and hybrid aspen plantation sites than forest thinning, age, or former land use for plantations. Although first-generation hybrid aspen plantations and native forests are similar in overall fungal diversity, their taxonomic and functional composition is strikingly different. Therefore, hybrid aspen plantations can be used to reduce felling pressure on native forests; however, our knowledge is still insufficient to conclude that plantations could replace native aspen forests from the soil biodiversity perspective.

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