Abstract
Wood-decay fungi are one of the major threats to the old and valuable trees in Hong Kong and constitute a main conservation and management challenge because they inhabit dead wood as well as living trees. The diversity, abundance, and distribution of wood-decay fungi associated with standing trees and stumps in four different parks of Hong Kong, including Hong Kong Park, Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Garden, Kowloon Park, and Hong Kong Observatory Grounds, were investigated. Around 4430 trees were examined, and 52 fungal samples were obtained from 44 trees. Twenty-eight species were identified from the samples and grouped into twelve families and eight orders. Phellinus noxius, Ganoderma gibbosum, and Auricularia polytricha were the most abundant species and occurred in three of the four parks. Most of the species were detected on old trees, indicating that older trees were more susceptible to wood-decay fungi than younger ones. More wood-decay fungal species were observed on Ficus microcarpa trees than on other tree species. These findings expanded the knowledge of wood-decay fungi in urban environments in Hong Kong and provided useful information for the conservation of old trees and the protection of human life and property from the danger of falling trees.
Highlights
Urban forests play a very important role in the urban ecological system
Hong Kong Park (HKP) and Zoological and Botanical Garden (ZBG) are located in Central on Hong Kong Island, with Garden Road in between; Kowloon Park (KP) and Hong Kong Observatory Grounds (HKO) are located in Tsim Sha Tsui, with Nathan Road in between (Figure 1 and Table 1)
We surveyed four major parks in Hong Kong for detection of common wood-decay fungi that affected the urban forests in the cosmopolitan Hong Kong
Summary
Urban forests play a very important role in the urban ecological system. It is important that urban forests add additional value to dwellings and people are willing to pay to protect urban forests [6,7]. Urban forests are vulnerable to disturbance from weather and infection, and falling trees can be significant human hazards [8]. Failure of trees in urban forest is usually caused by microbial infection and lack of adequate soil depth because of poor soil conditions, excessive human activities, and lack of proper management. Wood-decay fungi are the most relevant and recognized pathogens to growing and dead trees
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