Abstract
Soil fungi are important components of boreal forest ecosystems; for example, saprotrophic fungi regulate nutrient cycling, and mycorrhizal species facilitate nutrient uptake by plants. This study aimed to assess soil fungal communities in a reclaimed area and an adjacent natural mixedwood forest and to identify the distribution of taxa available for seedling colonization. Soil fungal microbiomes were assessed along three transects (from 10 m inside the interior of the undisturbed forest to 40 m inside the reclaimed area) and in the roots of small aspen within the natural forest. Using high-throughput deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequencing of internal transcribed spacer amplicons, a total of 2796 unique fungal taxa were detected across fine roots, forest floor, and mineral soils collected along the transects, whereas 166 taxa were detected in the aspen roots from the natural forest. Within the interior of the forest, ectomycorrhizal fungi were more common, whereas in the reclaimed areas, arbuscular mycorrhizae and saprophytes were more common. This survey showed that natural areas of adjacent undisturbed forest can act as a source of ectomycorrhizal fungi for dispersal into reclaimed areas. Notably, soil fungal taxa colonizing the root systems of small aspen included species that are specifically associated with soils from the undisturbed forest (primarily ectomycorrhizae) or the reclaimed clearing (saprotrophs and plant pathogens).
Highlights
Complex relationships exist between soil fungi and plants, including symbiotic mycorrhizal relationships in which fungi colonize roots, leading to benefits for both organisms
The current study investigated the rapid natural dispersal of fungi from an undisturbed forest into an adjacent reclaimed area, and the hypothesis that undisturbed forests are a potential source of fungi that can disperse into a reclaimed area, enabling natural colonization of the reclaimed site by beneficial fungi
This experimental site is located in the boreal plain ecoregion and was chosen as the site history and land reclamation techniques were typical of those used by industry and because it was adjacent to an undisturbed boreal mixedwood forest
Summary
Complex relationships exist between soil fungi and plants, including symbiotic mycorrhizal relationships in which fungi colonize roots, leading to benefits for both organisms. Colonization of root systems by mycorrhizal fungi can improve plant growth and survival by increasing the availability of nutrients to plants in exchange for carbon compounds and protection from pathogenic fungi [1]. Several types of mycorrhizal relationships are known to exist, classified according to the structure of the interface between the host plant and the fungus [2]. Mycorrhizal fungi naturally disperse by aerial discharge of spores produced in fruiting structures [5,6], dispersal by fungivorus organisms [7,8], or belowground
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