Assessment of the diversity of epigeous Basidiomycota under different soil-management systems in a montado ecosystem: a case study conducted in Alentejo

Abstract

Several management practices that are employed in Montados are known to affect the establishment and maintenance of Basidiomycota communities immediately after disturbances have occurred, contributing to their development or, conversely, decreasing their diversity. In this study we aim to evaluate the effects of the most common understory and soil-management practices on the diversity of the epigeous Basidiomycota a long time after disturbances have taken place. The study was conducted in a Montado (cork and holm-oak ecosystem) area in Southern Portugal (Alentejo). In 1998, four experimental treatments—control (C), mulching (Mu), mowing (Mo) and ploughing (P)—with three replicates each were carried out: C—untreated/untouched; Mu—cutting of shrubs followed by deposition of plant residues on soil surfaces; Mo—cutting of shrubs followed by biomass removal and soil tilling; P—cutting of shrubs followed by the incorporation of plant biomass into the soil through tillage. Macrofungal surveys were conducted fortnightly in the experimental plots between Autumn 2007 and Spring 2012. Significant differences in total and mycorrhizal richness were found between plots, with higher values being found for non-tilled plots and lower values for tilled plots. No significant differences were found in saprotrophic richness between treatments. Regarding the composition of taxa, Boletus and Russula were the main taxonomic groups affected by experimental treatments. Our results showed that soil tillage can result in a decrease in mycorrhizal taxa even a long time after disturbances have taken place.