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DOI: 10.3852/08-178
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Mycologia, 101(4), 2009, pp. 473-483.
© 2009 by The Mycological Society of America

Ectomycorrhizal fungal communities of oak savanna are distinct from forest communities


I.A. Dickie 1

     Landcare Research, Box 40, Lincoln, 7640 New Zealand

B.T.M. Dentinger 2
P.G. Avis 3
D.J. McLaughlin

     Department of Plant Biology, University of Minnesota, St Paul, Minnesota 55108

P.B. Reich

     Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, St Paul, Minnesota 55108

Oak savanna is one of the most endangered ecosystems of North America, with less than 0.02% of its original area remaining. Here we test whether oak savanna supports a unique community of ectomycorrhizal fungi, a higher diversity of ectomycorrhizal fungi or a greater proportional abundance of ascomycete fungi compared with adjacent areas where the absence of fire has resulted in oak savanna conversion to oak forest. The overall fungal community was highly diverse and dominated by Cenococcum geophilum and other ascomycetes, Cortinarius, Russula, Lactarius and Thelephoraceae. Oak savanna mycorrhizal communities were distinct from oak forest communities both aboveground (sporocarp surveys) and belowground (RFLP identification of ectomycorrhizal root tips); however total diversity was not higher in oak savanna than oak forests and there was no evidence of a greater abundance of ascomycetes. Despite not having a higher local diversity than oak forests, the presence of a unique fungal community indicates that oak savanna plays an important role in maintaining regional ectomycorrhizal diversity.

Key words: Ascomycota, conservation, diversity, fire, habitat loss, mycorrhizal ecology

1 Corresponding author. Landcare Research, PO Box 40, Lincoln 7640, New Zealand. Tel: +64 3 321 9646; Fax: +64 3 321 9998. E-mail: dickiei{at}landcareresearch.co.nz






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Copyright © 2009 by The Mycological Society of America.