Ecological Factors Influencing the Occurrence of Macrofungi from Eastern Mountainous Areas to the Central Plains of Jilin Province, China

Abstract

Macrofungi are essential in forest ecological functioning. Their distribution and diversity are primarily impacted by vegetation, topography, and environmental factors, such as precipitation and temperature. However, the composition and topographical changes of the macrofungi between the eastern mountainous area and central plains of Jilin Province are currently unknown. For this study, we selected six investigational sites representing three different topographical research sites in Jilin Province to assess macrofungal diversity, and applied a quadrat sampling method. Macro- and micro-morphological characteristics combined with the molecular method were used to identify the collected macrofungi. Meanwhile, selected meteorological data were obtained for statistical analysis. As a result, 691 species were identified, of which Agarics were the most common, accounting for 60.23%, while the Cantharelloid fungi were the least common (0.91%). Furthermore, most of the shared genera (species) were saprophytic. The α diversity showed that the species diversity and richness in Longwan National Forest Park (B2) were the highest at the genus level. The mycorrhizal macrofungi proportion revealed that Quanshuidong Forest Farm (A1) was the healthiest. Finally, species composition similarity decreased with the transition from mountainous to hilly plains. We concluded that the occurrence of macrofungi was most influenced by vegetation. The air humidity, precipitation, and wind velocity were also found to significantly impact the occurrence of macrofungi. Finally, the mycorrhizal:saprophytic ratios and species similarity decreased with the transition from the mountainous area to the plains. The results presented here help elucidate the macrofungi composition and their relationship with environmental factors and topography in Jilin Province, which is crucial for sustainable utilization and future conservation.

Diversity and Distribution of Macrofungi in Protected Mountain Forest Habitats in Serbia and Its Relation to Abiotic Factors

“…Fungal taxa identified in this study were recognized as the members of the following functional groups: lignicolous (104 species, 43%) > mycorrhizal (79 species, 32%) > terricolous saprotrophs (62 species, 25%). A similar representation of these functional groups was documented in other studies of forest macrofungal diversity [ 84 , 100 ].…”

“…The most represented genera were Mycena (43) and Russula (34), whose representatives make up 31% of the total diversity. These two genera appeared among the most represented ones in several other mycocenological papers [ 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 ]. The minority of the recorded taxa (10%) were present during each year of research.…”

“…Unlike mycorrhizal and lignocolous fungi, they are lower substrate or habitat management preferences [ 83 , 100 ]. A recent study in China also reported that the saprotrophic group had the highest number of co-occurring genera within six different forest regions [ 84 ]. In our work, terricolous species distinguished for their high degree of distribution were Lycoperdon perlatum (P2, P3, and P5), Gymnopus dryophilus (P1, P2, P3, and P5), Gymnopus androsaceus (P2, P3, P4, and P5), and Mycena sanguinolenta (P2, P3, P4, and P5).…”

“…The first group, consisting of the total number of identified species (TNS) and the number of lignicolous species (NoLig), was positively influenced by air humidity, precipitation, and soil moisture. It has already been recorded that the total number of registered macrofungal species in forests increases with increasing precipitation and air humidity [ 36 , 84 , 101 , 117 ]. Studies conducted in tropical forests in Costa Rica and Peninsular Malaysia [ 24 , 97 ] found that the number of lignicolous macrofungi increases with the increase in precipitation, air humidity, and soil moisture, which is in accordance with our results.…”

Diversity and biological characteristics of macrofungi of district Bajaur, a remote area of Pakistan in the Hindu Kush range

“…Macrofungi diversity varies significantly as a result of the prevailing environmental conditions such as decaying wood logs, damp soil, sandy soil, humus and leaf litter [ 14 ]. The variations in the distribution of macrofungi can also be attributed to many factors, including rainfall, the amount of suitable substrate, damp woods with constantly high air humidity, and forest type [ 32 ]. The results of this study indicate that more species bloom during the rainy season from July to September while complete absence in the winter in December and January.…”