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Fungi inhabiting fine roots of Pinus heldreichii in the Montenegrin montane forests

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Abstract

Pinus heldreichii H. Christ. is a tertiary relict and endemic to the western Balkans and southern part of Apennine peninsula. It is an Oro-Mediterranean species occurring at altitudes between 1200 and 2000 m and primarily on calcareous soils. P. heldreichii forests are of key importance for nature conservation, protection against gravitational natural hazards, landscape conservation and recreation. However, these forests are currently highly fragmented and require the elaboration of guidelines for sustainable management and conservation that should be based on scientific knowledge. Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi are important for successful regeneration, establishment and growth of P. heldreichii. The aim of this study was to investigate ECM and other fungal communities associated with fine roots of P. heldreichii at two different sites in Kuči Mountains, south-eastern Montenegro. Roots and soil were sampled from 70 trees. Soil was subjected to chemical analyses, fine roots were morphotyped and selected root morphotypes were Sanger sequenced using ITS rDNA as a marker. Sequencing resulted in 431 high-quality sequences representing 147 different fungal species including a large number of ECM species. The most common species were ECM fungi Lactarius sanguifluus (5.1%), Wilcoxina rehmii (4.2%) and Amphinema sp. KK28 (3.2%). Climatic factors were similar between the sites, but site size, inclination, elevation, tree age (old growth versus young trees), and some soil characteristics differed. The results demonstrate relatively high fungal diversity and site-specific effects on abundance and composition of fungal communities in fine roots of P. heldreichii growing in high-altitude marginal habitats.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Heriberto Vélëz for language revision. We also thank anonymous reviewers and a subject editor for valuable comments and suggestions. The financial support is gratefully acknowledged to the Ministry of Science of Montenegro through the grant INVO HERIC No: 01-648.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biotechnical Faculty, University of Montenegro, Mihaila Lalića 1, 81000, Podgorica, Montenegro

    Jelena Lazarević

  2. Department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology, Uppsala BioCenter, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7026, SE-75007, Uppsala, Sweden

    Audrius Menkis

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  1. Jelena Lazarević
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  2. Audrius Menkis
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Correspondence to Jelena Lazarević.

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Lazarević, J., Menkis, A. Fungi inhabiting fine roots of Pinus heldreichii in the Montenegrin montane forests. Symbiosis 74, 189–197 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13199-017-0504-5

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