The disparity between the number of ectomycorrhizal fungi and those producing fruit bodies in a Pinus densiflora stand

Abstract

Spatial distributions and species diversity of ectomycorrhizal fungi were studied. Epigeous fungal fruit bodies and mycorrhizas were investigated in a reforested stand of Pinus densiflora aged 45 yr. Forty species of fruit bodies, including the dominant genera, Russula and Inocybe , were recorded throughout the three-year investigation. A species-area curve of the fruit bodies indicated that mean species number in 1.5 m 2 was ca 1.0. Pine ectomycorrhiza, which were randomly sampled throughout the same investigation period, were assigned to 51 morphotypes microscopically. Although the dominant morphotypes were not manifested due to the sampling method used, a species-area curve of the mycorrhizas indicated the mean species number in 1.5 m 2 was ca 25. Thus, spatial distributions among fruit bodies and mycorrhizas were quite different, and the mycorrhizas showed more complex distributions than fruit bodies. Several species abundance and diversity coefficients changed in relation to both the calculation method and fungal material used, which suggested the necessity for a uniform method of characterizing ectomycorrhizal fungal community structure.