Fungal Presence and Changes of Wood Structure in Bark Stripping Wounds Made by Red Deer (Cervus elaphus L.) on Stems of Fraxinus angustifolia (Vahl)

Abstract

Narrow-leaved ash (Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl), a highly valued European forest tree species, has been severely affected by a large-scale decline, which is most probably driven by a complex of multiple interacting factors including fungi, which contribute to and accelerate this process. Red deer (Cervus elaphus L.) can be considered as one of the contributing factors, as they inflict damage on the stems of young trees by stripping the bark. These wounds not only represent suitable entry points for fungi which can cause tissue necroses and decomposition, they can lead to changes in the wood structure as well. The aims of this research were to analyze chosen parameters of bark stripping wounds in narrow-leaved ash stands, identify fungi present in the tissue exposed by wounding, and inspect the effect of wounding on the wood structure. Bark stripping was observed on ash trees from 2 cm up to 18 cm of DBH and between 0.1 m and 1.9 m of stem height. The most susceptible trees were those with an average DBH of 5 ± 2.5 cm. On most of the ash trees (51%), one-third to two-thirds of the circumference was damaged. In wounded tissue, 174 fungal isolates were found, most of which belonged to known endophytic fungi from the genera Trichoderma, Fusarium, and Clonostachys. It was observed that earlywood cells in the wounding zone had narrower lumens compared to ones in adjacent healthy zone with regard to different trees and stem heights.