Fruiting body development of a root pathogenic fungus, rhizina undulata, after forest fire in eastern coastal pine forests of Korea

Abstract

Since late July, 2000, fruiting bodies of Rhizina undulata, an ascomycetous fungus which causes root rot on coniferous trees, began to develop after a forest fire in the eastern coastal pine forests of Korea. In a survey conducted in August, they were abundantly developed in the fire‐damaged pine forests. The occurrence frequency of the fruiting bodies seemed to be correlated with the degree of damage by the forest fire. That is, in severely damaged or completely burned areas, fruiting bodies were found around trees with abundant frequency, whereas moderate or slightly damaged areas showed a relatively low occurrence frequency. In addition, pine seedlings transplanted just after the fire outbreak were infected and killed by this fungus, producing typical symptoms on the infected roots. These phenomena present a warning that Rhizina root rot may cause severe damage on still‐alive pine trees after being burnt in fire‐damaged forests. This disease also may attack pine seedlings which are transplanted to restore the symbiotic relationships with the mycelium of pine mushroom, Tricholoma matsutake, just after a forest fire.