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Ectomycorrhizal fungal communities of native highland and lowland Tasmanian eucalypt forests B. M. Horton 1,2,3,4, G. M. Gates1,2,3,4, M. Glen 5, C. Mohammed 1,5, N. J. Davidson 2,3,4, T. Wardlaw 6 Background 1 Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia, 2 School of Plant Science, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia, 3 Bushfire CRC, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 4 CRC for Forestry, Hobart, TAS, Australia, 5 CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Hobart, TAS, Australia, 6 Forestry Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia. Contact: [email protected] INTRODUCTION Ectomycorrhizal fungi perform many ecosystem functions and are critical for plant host nutrient acquisition. The diversity and endemism of Australian ectomycorrhizal fungi is high with an estimated 6500 species. Ectomycorrhizal communities are known to vary with host species, vegetation type, climate and soil type but relatively little is known about the biodiversity and environmental requirements of these fungi in Australia and especially in Tasmania. This study aimed to gather information on Tasmanian ectomycorrhizal fungi and their distribution in highland and lowland eucalypt forests. highland and lowland eucalypt forests. METHODS Above‐ground fruit bodies were collected over a three year period from highland and lowland eucalypt forest (Table 1 & Figure 1). Fruit body morphology was described and collections were identified either morphologically or from DNA sequencing. Species lists indicating ectomycorrhizal community composition and richness were derived. RESULTS Both the lowland and highland forests had over 160 above‐ground ectomycorrhizal species. The most common ectomycorrhizal species to both forest types was Lactarius eucalypti (Russulaceae), which is widespread throughout Tasmania (Figure 4). Another common species was Cortinarius rotundisporus (Cortinariaceae) (Figure 4) (Cortinariaceae) (Figure 4). Lowland forest E. obliqua Highland forest E. delegatensis Location southern Tasmania northern Tasmania Understorey type rainforest rainforst & dry sclerophyll Time since disturbance 70 ‐ > 250 years 23 ‐ > 125 years Disturbance type wildifire prescribed fire & partial harvesting Soil type Red Ferrosol & Brown Dermasol Dark brown Ferrosol & Brown Dermasol Geology Elevation Rainfall (annual mean) Temperature (annual mean) Jurassic dolerite & Quaternary dolerite talus 100 m 1477 mm 10.7 ºC (Geeveston) Tertiary basalt & Devonian granodiorite 800 ‐ 900 m 1320 – 1564 mm 9.3 ºC (Lorinna) – 9.7 ºC (Ben Nevis) d c a b c d Figure 1 (above) Understorey types from eucalypt forest a. E. delegatensis rainforest b. E. delegatensis sclerophyll c. E. obliqua q rainforest d. E. obliqua q old-growth g rainforest 100 Percentage of species A higher proportion of epigeous ectomycorrhizal fungi belonging to the y were found in the family Cortinariaceae lowland forest (Figure 3). Dominant eucalypt b a Both forests supported similar families of ectomycorrhizal fungi but with little overlap of species. The highland and lowland eucalypt forests were dominated by the Cortinariaceae family with the genus Cortinarius having the most number of species (Figure 2). Table 1. A comparison of lowland and highland eucalypt forest in Tasmania 80 60 40 20 Figure 4. Ectomycorrhizal species of Tasmanian eucalypt forest a. Lactarius eucalypt b. Cortinarius sinapicolor c. Spores of Cortinarius rotundisporus group d. Cortinarius rotundisporus type 0 Highland Lowland Conclusions 300 Nu umber of spceis 250 Lowland Highland Figure 3. Comparison of ectomycorrhizal epigeous macrofungi from two studies at different altitudes in Tasmania 200 Acknowledgements Thanks to Michael Pilkington for providing photographs and David Ratkowsky for statistical photographs, and David Ratkowsky for statistical advice. 150 100 50 0 Family Figure 2. Number of species recorded from each family for both forest types. Both forest types had highly diverse ectomycorrhizal communities that were unique for each forest type. Further investigation into these variables could further our understanding of the biological processes within these forest ecosystems.
