The macrofungal diversity and community of Atlantic oak <i>(Quercus petraea</i> and <i>Q. robur)</i> forests in Ireland

Abstract

The oak species Quercus petraea and Q. robur are dominant canopy tree species of native deciduous forests in Ireland and coastal regions of Western Europe. These forests are typically plant species-rich, and can also have a rich fungal flora. This survey examined macrofungi found in five native oak sites across Ireland over three years. Overall, 94 macrofungal species belonging to 39 genera were discovered with Mycena, Lactarius, Russula and Cortinarius the most species-rich genera. The species accumulation curve did not show signs of levelling off, indicating that more sampling would reveal more new species. Species richness estimation using the Chao2 estimator indicated that up to 135 species may be present across all of our plots, with individual plots receiving estimates from 19 to 61 species per plot. Sampled-based rarefaction analysis showed no significant differences in macrofungal species richness between our plots. The five most common species were Laccaria amethystina, L. laccata, Stereum hirsutum, Armillaria mellea and Cortinarius flexipes. Comparisons of the results with results from oak forests in similar regions found that the communities in Great Britain were most similar to those found in Ireland. There were some key oak forest distinguishing fungal species from the family Boletaceae lacking from Irish oak forests. It is hypothesised that the historic deforestation of Ireland, caused a reduction of suitable habitats for Irish oak associated macrofungi, leading to the unspecific mycota found in the oak forests of this study. The threats to Atlantic oak forests in Ireland are briefly discussed.

Ectomycorrhizal Colonisation in Declining Oak Stands on the Krotoszyn Plateau, Poland

“…The ECM fungal community consisted of 78% Basidiomycota and 22% Ascomycota across all analysed stands, with the proportions in agreement with previous studies [77]. The recorded species are characteristic and widespread ECM oak associates [41,78,79]. However, the observed species richness was low compared to other reports from oak forests [79,80].…”

Wood‐rotting basidiomycetes associated with declining native trees in timber‐harvesting compartments of the Garden Route National Park of South Africa

“…The physical size of the sampled compartments in this study needs to be considered in the interpretation of the isolation frequency and species richness of the basidiomycetous wood‐rotting fungi recorded. As noted by O'Hanlon and Harrington () and Yamashita et al . (), the frequency of site visitation, length of visits, as well as physical size of sampling area are among the key factors that may significantly affect macro‐fungal species richness.…”

Guild Patterns of Basidiomycetes Community Associated With Quercus mongolica in Mt. Jeombong, Republic of Korea

“…Because there are limited number of other studies for SPF communities in oaks, it is difficult to compare SPF communities in the roots of Q. mongolica and other oak species; however, the high abundance of Cryptococcus and Mycena observed in our study is consistent with a previous study that used soil samples from Q. mongolica [ 22 ]. In addition, fruiting bodies of Mycena are commonly found in other oak species [ 39 ]. Moreover, Cryptococcus is the most abundant species in various forest soils, include those of oak forests [ 40 ].…”