Abstract
The boreal forest environment plays an important role in the global C cycle due to its high carbon storage capacity. However, relatively little is known about the forest fungal community at a regional scale in boreal forests. In the present study, we have re-analyzed the data from our previous studies and highlighted the core fungal community composition and potential functional groups in three forests dominated by Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in Finland, and identified the fungal generalists that appear across geographic locations despite differences in local conditions. The three forests represent subarctic, northern and southern boreal forest, and are all in an un-managed state without human interference or management. The subarctic and northern areas are subject to reindeer grazing. The results showed that the three locations formed distinct fungal community structures (P < 0.05). Compared to the two northern locations, the southern boreal forest harbored a greater abundance of Zygomycota, Lactarius, Mortierella Umbelopsis, and Tylospora, in which aspect there were no differences between the two northern forests. Cortinarius, Piloderma, and Suillus were the core fungal genera in the boreal Scots pine forest. Functionally, the southern boreal forest harbored a greater abundance of saprotroph, endophytes and fungal parasite-lichen, whereas a greater abundance of ectomycorrhizal fungi was observed in the northern boreal forests. Moreover, the pathotroph and wood saprotrophs were commonly present in these three regions. The three locations formed two distinct fungal community functional structures, by which the southern forest was clearly separated from the two northern forests, suggesting a distance–decay relationship via geographic location. This study provides useful information for better understanding the common fungal communities and functions in boreal forests in different geographical locations.
Highlights
Microorganisms, including bacteria, archaea and fungi, play a pivotal role in forest ecosystems (Ma et al, 2017; Morriën et al, 2017), as they are involved in organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycles (Warcup, 1951)
Some nitrogenfixing bacteria can help plant for nitrogen uptake and participant in the nitrogen cycle (Falkowski et al, 2008), which is especially important in N-poor boreal forests due to low organic decomposition rate (Högberg et al, 2017)
The soil fungal diversity did not change across the three assessed locations, which is somewhat contrary to the previous results obtained on a larger scale, wherein the soil fungal diversity reached its highest values in temperate forests, and decreased in both the boreal forests and tropical forests (Shi et al, 2014)
Summary
Microorganisms, including bacteria, archaea and fungi, play a pivotal role in forest ecosystems (Ma et al, 2017; Morriën et al, 2017), as they are involved in organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycles (Warcup, 1951). Some nitrogenfixing bacteria can help plant for nitrogen uptake and participant in the nitrogen cycle (Falkowski et al, 2008), which is especially important in N-poor boreal forests due to low organic decomposition rate (Högberg et al, 2017). The soil microbial community is more prone to being affected by changes in regional or local conditions than plants (Fierer and Jackson, 2006; Bissett et al, 2010). Understanding the microbial community structure and ecological function at the regional or local scale can help to better understand the responses of microbes to changes in environmental and climatic conditions
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