Tags:
Sopp,
Økologi,
Metabarcoding,
Interaksjoner
Publications
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Ronold, Eivind Kverme; Morgado, Luis; Mundra, Sunil; Nybakken, Line; Halvorsen, Rune & Kauserud, Håvard
(2026).
Above- and belowground communities in boreal forests are tightly linked along common ecological gradients.
Plant and Soil.
ISSN 0032-079X.
doi:
10.1007/s11104-026-08440-8.
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Aims
Fungal communities in boreal forest soils are highly diverse, both taxonomically and functionally, with the majority of fungi associated with living or dead plants as saprotrophs, pathogens or mycorrhizal symbionts. The aim of this study was to examine to what extent soil fungal communities are structured by the above-ground vegetation versus topographic and edaphic factors.
Methods
We take advantage of a vegetation survey in which plant communities have been monitored in plots located along topographic and edaphic gradients in a boreal forest area in southern Norway, spanning from mesic spruce forests to xeric pine forests. To survey the corresponding fungal communities, we applied DNA metabarcoding of soil samples collected from the same permanent plots.
Results
The fungal soil communities exhibited a strong structure along the same edaphic and topographic gradients as the vegetation. Plant community composition explained most of the variation in fungal community composition followed by edaphic factors and topography. The xeric pine forest was characterized by high CN ratios, ericoid vegetation, and a correspondingly higher abundance of Ascomycota, many of which form ericoid mycorrhizae or are root-associated. The submesic spruce forest was characterized by higher pH, lower CN ratios, diverse understory vegetation and high abundance of ectomycorrhizal and white-rot litter decomposer Basidiomycota.
Conclusions
The gradient from mesic spruce- to xeric pine-dominated forest is ubiquitous in boreal forests, and we here show a strong link between composition of vegetation and fungal communities, highlighting long-term effects influencing both plant and fungal communities in similar and predictable ways.
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Asplund, Johan; Birkemoe, Tone; Kauserud, Håvard; Maurice, Sundy; Ronold, Eivind Kverme & Nordén, Jenni
(2025).
Functional diversity of dead wood promotes species-rich communities of fungi.
Fungal ecology.
ISSN 1754-5048.
79,
p. 1–9.
doi:
10.1016/j.funeco.2025.101473.
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Dead wood is a vital structural element in boreal forests, supporting diverse fungal and insect communities. Wood-inhabiting fungi, in particular, are influenced by both the volume and characteristics of dead wood. However, forestry practices often reduce dead wood quantity and diversity, impacting these communities. This study investigates how different facets of dead wood functional diversity − richness, evenness, divergence, and dispersion − alongside volume, affect fruiting polyporoid and corticioid fungi in Agaricomycetes. Using a paired design of previously clear-cut and near-natural forests, we assess fungal responses to dead wood traits. Our findings show that near-natural forests host greater fungal species richness due to higher dead wood volume and diversity. A combined measure of volume and functional diversity better predicts fungal richness and composition than either factor alone. Notably, functional divergence and evenness are key indicators of niche variety and distribution. These results emphasize the need to enhance both quantity and structural diversity of dead wood in forest management.
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Ronold, Eivind Kverme; Vik, Unni; Vandvik, Vigdis; Kauserud, Håvard & Thoen, Ella
(2025).
Elevational range expansion of Betula pubescens may be slowed by lack of suitable mycorrhizal symbionts in alpine soils.
Fungal ecology.
ISSN 1754-5048.
77.
doi:
10.1016/j.funeco.2025.101454.
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The elevational limit for trees is increasing worldwide due to global warming. The elevational range expansion of obligate ectomycorrhizal trees, such as Betula pubescens, may however be limited by lack of fungal symbionts above the treeline since the vegetation here is often dominated by plants forming other mycorrhizal types. We set up a cross-factorial experiment cultivating Betula pubescens seedlings in alpine and lowland soils, at simulated alpine and lowland temperatures, to test whether the fungal community may limit seedling establishment. We found that alpine soils contained fewer ectomycorrhizal fungi in general and that seedlings cultivated in alpine soil were smaller and recruited fewer ectomycorrhizal fungi compared to seedlings cultivated in lowland soil. Our results indicate a link between seedling success, soil fungal community and mycorrhizal colonization. We suggest that unsuccessful mycorrhization of seedlings above the treeline may be limiting for treeline expansion under increased alpine temperatures.
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Kennedy, Peter G.; Nieves, Dyonishia J.; Walther, Kelcie Paige; Matney, Soren & Ronold, Eivind Kverme
(2025).
High overlap in the richness and composition of ectomycorrhizal fungal communities associated with Corylus shrubs and co-occurring Quercus and Pinus trees.
Mycologia.
ISSN 0027-5514.
117(2),
p. 201–212.
doi:
10.1080/00275514.2024.2445110.
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Asplund, Johan; Nordén, Jenni; Kjønaas, O. Janne; Madsen, Rieke Lo; Lunde, Lisa Fagerli & Birkemoe, Tone
[Show all 18 contributors for this article]
(2024).
Long term effects of forest management on forest structure and dead wood in mature boreal forests.
Forest Ecology and Management.
ISSN 0378-1127.
572.
doi:
10.1016/j.foreco.2024.122315.
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The history of forestry in Fennoscandia spans five centuries, with clear-cutting being the dominant practice since the mid-20th century. This has led to a significant transformation of the forest landscape. In this study we investigated long-term effects of clear-cutting on forest structure and dead wood volumes. We established twelve pairs of spruce forest sites in southeastern Norway, each pair constituting of a mature, previously clear-cut stand and its near-natural counterpart with similar edaphic factors. The near-natural stands had 2.8 times higher volumes of dead wood and a larger proportion of dead wood in late stages of decay. The near-natural stands had on average 36.8 ± 9.1 m3 ha− 1 of downed dead wood and 24.1 ± 6.2 m3 ha− 1 of standing dead wood. Corresponding numbers for the previously clear-cut stands were 10.2 ± 2.8 m3 ha− 1 and 11.9 ± 3.7 m3 ha− 1 . Forests with lower volumes of dead wood often also had lower connectivity of old spruce forests, which potentially have further negative effects on biodiversity. Furthermore, near-natural stands displayed greater tree size heterogeneity, resulting in a wider variation in light conditions. While no difference was observed in living tree volume, we found only weak evidence for higher basal area in the previously clear-cut stands, which had a higher stem density with more slender stems and shorter crowns. Our findings suggest that managed forests do not develop structures typical of near-natural forests before they become mature for logging. We stress the importance of a thorough site selection for studies of management effects, as forest management history may be confounded with productivity and other edaphic factors. Experimental designs like ours are vital for testing how differences in structure and deadwood volumes, driven by forest management, translate into variations in biodiversity, carbon sequestration and ecosystem functioning in future studies Coarse woody debris Clear-cutting forestry Norway spruce Structural heterogeneity
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Ronold, Eivind Kverme; Vik, Unni; Kauserud, Håvard & Thoen, Ella
(2024).
Elevational range expansion of Betula pubescens may be slowed by lack of suitable mycorrhizal symbionts in alpine soils.
Full text in Research Archive
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Ronold, Eivind Kverme; Kauserud, Håvard; Halvorsen, Rune; Morgado, Luis & Mundra, Sunil
(2024).
To what extent does vegetation structure fungal communities in boreal forests?
Full text in Research Archive
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Ronold, Eivind Kverme; Kauserud, Håvard; Thoen, Ella & Vik, Unni
(2022).
Unsuccessful mycorrhization of seedlings slow the advance of the tree- and forest line in alpine ecosystems.
Full text in Research Archive
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Ronold, Eivind Kverme
(2022).
EcoForest - Effekten av skogbruk på biodiversitet, karbon og økologiske prosesser i boreale skoger.
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Ronold, Eivind Kverme; Kauserud, Håvard; Maurice, Sundy & Skrede, Inger
(2025).
Concerning fungi: Community ecology and diversity in natural and managed boreal forests.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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Fungal communities in Norwegian forests are highly diverse and species-rich. Fulfilling roles as mutualists, pathogens, parasites and decomposers, it is hard to imagine how a forest ecosystem would function without fungi. In this thesis I describe fungal communities in Norwegian boreal forests and how they are structured by the environment and the composition of vegetation and how forestry may impact fungal communities following clear-cutting.
In the first paper I use DNA-metabarcoding to describe how soil fungal communities in a forest reserve with negligible human impact are structured and influenced by the vegetation composition, soil edaphic parameters and topographic factors in the landscape. Soil was sampled along several transects representing transition from moist, shaded spruce forests to dry and topographically exposed pine forests, a common landscape characteristic in boreal ecosystem. I show that vegetation composition is the major driver of fungal community structure, more so than either topography or soil parameters. This likely reflects the tight symbiosis between many fungal species and plants, and the fact that vegetation and soil fungi are structured by similar processes over longer time scales.
The next three papers are from the EcoForest project, investigating fungal communities in south-eastern Norwegian spruce forests in the context of clear-cutting and long-term regeneration of community composition. By setting up 12 paired forest sites, with a plot in a five-to-nine-decade old previously clear-cut forest and a nearby plot in a forest that has never been clear-cut, we aim to investigate to what extent fungal communities in soil and deadwood y recover following clear-cutting, using the near-natural sites as reference. Applying DNA-metabarcoding, I found no differences in species richness or species diversity between soil fungal communities in the previous clear-cut and the near-natural forests. Instead, species identity and the relative abundances of species in the community are different. Previously clear-cut plots seemingly have a larger abundance of soil fungi adapted for faster nutrient turnover and more accessible forms of nutrients, while the near-natural forest soil fungal communities supported more slow-growing fungi adapted to accessing organically bound nutrients and slower nutrient turnover.
I also describe a long-term shift in the deadwood-inhabiting fungal communities. Many wood-decomposing fungi in the Polyporales, Hymenochaetales and Helotiales were more abundant in near-natural forest sites. This was not simply due to the forest type but was strongly driven by the diversity and variability of the deadwood on the forest floor. In essence, a previous clear-cut forest with high diversity of deadwood would host higher fungal richness and diversity than a near-natural forest with low deadwood variability. The majority of red-listed fungal species, however, were restricted to the near-natural forests. I found, in addition, a vast diversity of yeasts outnumbering the more conspicuous deadwood decomposing fungi. This community also exhibited compositional shifts in response to deadwood variability among sites.
Finally, I combine the data from soil and deadwood to investigate how certain species in the ectomycorrhizal community may grow and proliferate within deadwood on the forest floor. The few ectomycorrhizal species inhabiting deadwood were consistent across sites and comprised species known to access and mobilize nitrogen bound in complex organic forms. For some species this may represent an important adaptation in boreal forest soils, where soluble nitrogen is generally low and competition with soil saprotrophs is high, additionally, there is competition with other ectomycorrhizal species more specialized for the fast absorption of mineral nutrients. Deadwood on the forest floor may thus act as “nutrient banks” for certain ectomycorrhizal species adapted to this habitat, characterized by low carbon availability, but high concentrations of organic nitrogen and other vital nutrients.
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Published
Nov. 10, 2021 1:03 PM
- Last modified
Feb. 1, 2022 11:18 AM
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