Abstract

Conifer needles are typically long lived and can host a diverse community of fungal species with various effects on their host tree. The purpose of this study was to analyse shifts in the fungal community of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) needles on different spatial scales using 454 pyrosequencing. The fungal community composition changed gradually along a north-south gradient through Sweden, representing boreal to temperate vegetation zones. OTU richness and Shannon's diversity index increased with increasing latitude, but only in naturally regenerated forests. On the tree level, needles with symptoms of disease hosted a more diverse mycobiota compared to healthy needles, presumably supporting more pathogenic or saprotrophic species. This study provides a better insight into the patterns of fungal communities of Scots pine needles and highlights the need for further experimental research to identify specific environmental factors shaping the abundance of different fungal species. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd and The British Mycological Society. All rights reserved.

Keywords

454 pyrosequencing; Foliar fungi; Fungal community; Latitude gradient; Lophodermium sp; Pinus sylvestris

Published in

Fungal Ecology
2015, Volume: 17, pages: 126-139
Publisher: ELSEVIER SCI LTD

SLU Authors

• Millberg, Hanna

  • Department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Boberg, Johanna

  • Department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Stenlid, Jan

  • Department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Associated SLU-program

SLU Future Forests


UKÄ Subject classification

Forest Science


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.funeco.2015.05.012

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/73891