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Richness of ancient forest plant species indicates suitable habitats for macrofungi

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Abstract

Macrofungal species richness generally increases with forest continuity as does the richness of so-called ancient forest plant species (AFS). Based on this assumption, we examined the ability of AFS to indicate macrofungal diversity in six study areas covering a range of elevations and environments in the Czech Republic. In total, we used data from 106 sampling plots (2,500 m2 each) distributed over six types of forest stands reflecting different intensities and temporal stages of forest management. Species composition of vascular plants and macrofungi was recorded by a single inventory and regular 2-year monitoring, respectively. In total, we found 71 AFS and 1,413 macrofungal species, of which 150 were red-listed macrofungal species. We documented that AFS show potential for being used in the prediction of macrofungi species richness, including endangered species, at the local scale (α-diversity). Additionally, we found significant differences in macrofungal species richness depending on study area and type of forest management, which did not, however, derogate the effect of AFS. Spatial congruence between species composition of AFS and macrofungi communities (β-diversity) increased with forest age and decreased with intensity of forest management. If we consider the simplicity of monitoring AFS in comparison to regular monitoring of macrofungi, we found a widely usable tool for estimating macrofungal diversity in all dominant types of managed forest in central Europe. However, we should be aware of the limited ability of AFS to capture macrofungal diversity across a broader spatial context (γ-diversity), especially in areas with a low diversity of AFS.

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Acknowledgments

We thank M. Dančák, A. Jírová, L. Kratochvílová, M. Lepší, Z. Plesková and P. Veselý for surveying herb-layer vegetation and J. Novotný and J. Hlásek for participation in sampling of macrofungi. Some critical taxa were identified by Z. Pouzar (Corticiaceae s.l.), P. Vampola (Polyporales s.l.) and S. Komínková (Mycena). Technical support was provided by L. Antolík, K. Baltaziuk, L. Čížek, M. Flachs, J. Haščík, P. Hubený, H. Hunkařová, V. Iarema, M. Jakub, J. Jaroš, P. Koukal, J. Kšír, Z. Melín, A. Petrbok, K. Stupková, T. Svoboda, A. Tenčík, P. Zach, M. Zajíček and I. Zítková. We thank J.W. Jongepier and J. Titus for improving English and clarity of manuscript. Editor in Chief D. Hawksworth and three anonymous reviewers gave valuable comments on the manuscript. We are grateful to the respective forest administrations for cooperation in our research. This study was supported by grant VaV SP/2d1/146/08 from the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecological Services, Areál ČOV, 268 01, Hořovice, Czech Republic

    Jeňýk Hofmeister & Jan Hošek

  2. Department of Nonlinear Modelling, Institute of Computer Science, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Pod Vodárenskou věží 2, 182 07, Prague, Czech Republic

    Marek Brabec

  3. Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 267/2, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic

    Daniel Dvořák

  4. Museum of South Bohemia, Dukelská 1, 370 51, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

    Miroslav Beran

  5. O. Jeremiáše 1932/12, 708 00, Ostrava, Poruba, Czech Republic

    Helena Deckerová

  6. Mycological Centre Jihlava, Březinova 11, 586 01, Jihlava, Czech Republic

    Jiří Burel

  7. Department of Mycology, National Museum, Cirkusová 1740, 193 00, Prague 9, Horní Počernice, Czech Republic

    Martin Kříž

  8. Laboratory of Environmental Geology and Geochemistry, Institute of Geology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Rozvojová 269, 165 00, Prague 6 - Lysolaje, Czech Republic

    Jan Borovička

  9. Mášova 21, 602 00, Brno, Czech Republic

    Jan Běťák

  10. Global Change Research Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Na Sádkách 7, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

    Martina Vašutová

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  1. Jeňýk Hofmeister
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Hofmeister, J., Hošek, J., Brabec, M. et al. Richness of ancient forest plant species indicates suitable habitats for macrofungi. Biodivers Conserv 23, 2015–2031 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-0701-y

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