Myxomycete distribution varies among leaf litters of different vegetation in a local secondary forest of warm-temperate western Japan

Abstract

Although many myxomycetes inhabit leaf litter on the forest floor and have feeding stages in litter layers, there has been little understanding regarding how the different types of leaf litter in a forest influence myxomycetes to distribute. In this study, I focused on the microhabitat distribution of foliicolous myxomycetes within a local secondary forest that consisted of various vegetation types in warm-temperate western Japan. Newly defoliated leaf litters were collected from the ground surfaces of seven different sites and then incubated in trays at a forested site throughout the entire fruiting seasons (in situ incubation method). Forty-eight species of myxomycetes (with varieties treated as species) were found in a total of 4042 samples. Leaf litters derived from different vegetation sites yielded diverse myxomycete assemblages, i.e. the Quercus glauca site yielded the richest myxomycete community (26 species), followed by Quercus variabilis site (24), Prunus verecunda site (22), Cinnamomum camphora site (21), Castanopsis cuspidata site (18), Pinus densiflora site (7) and bamboo site (7). Several myxomycete species were found to be preferentially distributed in deciduous broadleaf or evergreen leaf litter. The fraction of vegetative cover of deciduous and evergreen trees influenced the species richness and diversity of myxomycetes. Leaf litter heterogeneity derived from forest vegetation and defoliation season influenced the myxomycete distribution and species diversity. Research using in situ incubation method demonstrated that heterogeneous myxomycete microhabitats are distributed at a small spatial scale in a local forest.