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Comparison of wood-inhabiting myxomycetes in subalpine and montane coniferous forests in the Yatsugatake Mountains of Central Japan

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Abstract

To demonstrate altitudinal gradients (and resulting temperatures) that affect myxomycete biodiversity and species composition, we statistically compared myxomycete assemblages between a subalpine coniferous forest and a montane pine forest within the region of the Yatsugatake Mountains, Nagano Prefecture, Central Japan. In summer and autumn field surveys during 2003–2010, 53 myxomycete taxa (with varieties treated as species) were observed from 639 records of fruiting bodies in the subalpine forest and 32 taxa were detected from 613 records in the montane forest. There were 20 species in common between the assemblages and the percentage similarity index was 0.400. Myxomycete biodiversity was higher in the subalpine than in the montane forest. Nine myxomycete species were statistically frequent occurrences in the subalpine forest and appeared in autumn: Lamproderma columbinum, Cribraria macrocarpa, Trichia botrytis, Physarum newtonii, Diderma ochraceum, Enteridium splendens, Elaeomyxa cerifera, Trichia verrucosa, and Colloderma oculatum. Five species were restricted to appear in the subalpine forest: Cribraria purpurea, Cribraria rufa, Cribraria ferruginea, Cribraria piriformis, and Lepidoderma tigrinum. Dead wood in the subalpine forest provided a breeding habitat for specific myxomycetes that inhabit cold areas; that is those areas having geographical features of decreasing temperature and increasing elevation, such as the temperate area of Central Japan.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Yosio Hada of the Okayama University of Science for supporting this study and Mr. Kengo Matsuoka, Mr. Masato Nakata, and Mr. Takuma Takahashi for their invaluable assistance during fieldwork. We are also grateful to Ms. Jennifer Nicole Henry for her kind assistance with improving the English of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Junior High School of Okayama University of Science, 1-1 Ridai-cho, Kitaku, Okayama, Okayama, 700-0005, Japan

    Kazunari Takahashi

  2. Hiroshima Municipal Asakita Junior-Senior High School, 1-14-1 Miirihigashi, Asakita-ku, Hiroshima, Hiroshima, 731-0212, Japan

    Yuichi Harakon

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  1. Kazunari Takahashi
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  2. Yuichi Harakon
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Correspondence to Kazunari Takahashi.

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Takahashi, K., Harakon, Y. Comparison of wood-inhabiting myxomycetes in subalpine and montane coniferous forests in the Yatsugatake Mountains of Central Japan. J Plant Res 125, 327–337 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-011-0452-8

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