Abstract
Heterobasidion spp. pathogenic fungi produce conspicuous fruitbodies on infected wood, which may represent a habitat for a range of organisms, including invertebrates. The aim was to: (i) assess and compare invertebrate diversity in Heterobasidion spp. fruitbodies, infected Picea abies wood and adjacent soil; (ii) test methods for collecting invertebrates from Heterobasidion spp. fruitbodies. A total of 69 Heterobasidion fruitbody samples, 46 wood samples and 19 soil samples were collected at two forest sites in Latvia. In total, 7311 invertebrate individuals were collected representing 62 different taxa, among which 55 were in fruitbodies, 47 in wood and 36 in soil. The dominant invertebrates in fruitbodies were Acari (82.4%), Collembola (6.2%), Coleoptera (4.7%); in wood were Acari (78.6%), Collembola (9.6%), Diplopoda (3.1%); in soil were Acari (90.6%), Collembola (3.4%) and Coleoptera (1.4%). Among all taxa, 17.7% were found exclusively in fruitbodies, 3.2% in wood, 4.8% in soil, while 48.4% were shared among different substrates. Although many invertebrate taxa were shared, their relative abundance differed substantially among different substrates. The sampling methods used provided valuable information on invertebrate communities. Further development of these methods may be needed to obtain more detailed and specific information about invertebrates inhabiting different habitats.
Highlights
Heterobasidion spp. pathogenic fungi cause considerable economic losses to forestry due to the infection of living trees and decay of wood
Samples were collected from two sample plots in the autumn of 2016: (i) a 70year-old forest stand consisting of 80% P. abies with an admixture of Betula pendula and Pinus sylvestris on peatland near the Forest Research Station in the Kalsnava forest region (56◦41 40.4” N, 25◦54 21.8” E), further referred to as Kalsnava; (ii) a 50-year-old forest stand consisting of 90% P. abies with an admixture of B. pendula on mineral soil in JSC Latvia’s State ForestsCentral Daugava region, Ogre division (56◦50 50.8” N, 24◦48 17.8” E), further referred to as Ogre
When the same number of samples was taken from each substrate following the rarefaction analysis, the richness of invertebrate taxa did not differ significantly among different substrates (p > 0.05)
Summary
Heterobasidion spp. pathogenic fungi cause considerable economic losses to forestry due to the infection of living trees and decay of wood. 22% of P. abies stands are infected by Heterobasidion spp. and, on average, the economic loss at a final cutting exceeds EUR 4000/ha [2]. It is known that these fruitbodies mainly affect the rate of infection at the stand level but not in adjacent stands [4]. Both Heterobasidion parviporum Niemelä & Korhonen and Heterobasidion annosum (Fr.) Bref. Are found in Latvia, and both of these species form fruitbodies on infected P. abies wood at a similar rate [5]. In Latvia, the area covered by fruitbodies on 3- to 4-year-old P. abies logs is on average 3759 cm2/m3, and can exceed 5000 cm2/m3 on logs in stands growing on drained peat soils [5]
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