Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ecological role of hypogeous ectomycorrhizal fungi in Australian forests and woodlands

  • Published:
Plant and Soil Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The Australian continent is characterised by a harsh climate and highly weathered, nutrient-poor soils. Trees and shrubs in these stressful environmental conditions typically form ectomycorrhizae with a variety of fungi, many of which form hypogeous (underground) fruit-bodies. The total number of hypogeous fungi Australia-wide is unknown, although recent systematic studies in the far south-eastern corner of the country suggest that they may number well over a thousand. Similar surveys elswhere are urgently required to clarify the situation. The precise ecological role of many hypogeous fungi remains to be determined, although most presumably facilitate nutrient and water uptake on behalf of their mycorrhizal partners. Others may also protect their plant host from root pathogens. One key function of hypogeous fungi is the role their fruit-bodies play as a food resource for a large range of terrestrial mammals. For a few animals, hypogeous fungi form the single most important dietary item year-round, whereas for others they may only be of seasonal or supplementary value. The extent to which fungi form part of the diet of any mammal species is reflected in the various levels of adaptation toward acquiring, then processing and digesting these cryptic and nutritionally challenging foodstuffs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allen M F 1991 The Ecology of Mycorrhizae. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alsheikh A M and Trappe J M 1983 Taxonomy of Phaengium lefebvrei, a desert truffle eaten by birds. Can. J. Bot. 61, 1919-1925.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amaranthus M P, Trappe J M and Molina R J 1989 Long-term forest productivity and the living soil. In Maintaining the Long-Term Productivity of Pacific Northwest Forest Ecosystems. Eds. D A Perry, R Meurisse, B Thomas, R Miller, J Boyle, J Means, C R Perry and R F Powers. pp. 36-52. Timber Press, Portland, OR.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amaranthus M P, Trappe J M, Bednar L and Arthur D 1994 Hypogeous fungal production in mature Douglas-fir forest fragments and surrounding plantations and its relation to coarse woody debris and animal mycophagy. Can. J. For. Res. 24, 2157-2165.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson I C, Chambers S M and Cairney J W G 2001 Distribution and persistence of Australian Pisolithus spp. genets at native sclerophyll forest field sites. Mycol. Res. 105, 971-976.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashton D H 1976 Studies of the mycorrhizae of Eucalyptus regnans F. Muell. Aust. J. Bot. 24, 723-741.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bougher N L and Lebel T 2001 Sequestrate (truffle-like) fungi of Australia and New Zealand. Aust. Syst. Bot. 14, 1-47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bougher N, Grove T S and Malajczuk N 1990 Growth and phosphorus acquistion of karri (Eucalyptus diversicolor F. Muell.) seedlings inoculated with ectomycorrhizal fungi in relation to phosphorus supply. New Phytol. 114, 77-85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brundrett, M. 1991 Mycorrhizas in natural ecosystems. Adv. Ecol. Res. 21, 72-313.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burgess T I, Malajczuk N and Grove T S 1993 The ability of 16 ectomycorrhizal fungi to increase growth and phosphorus uptake of Eucalyptus globulus Labill. and E. diversicolor F.Muell. Plant Soil 153, 155-164.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cairney J W G 1999 Intraspecific physiological variation: implications for understanding functional diversity in ectomycorrhizal fungi. Mycorrhiza 9, 125-135.

    Google Scholar 

  • Castellano M A and Bougher N L 1994 Consideration of the taxonomy and biodiversity of Australian ectomycorrhizal fungi. Plant Soil 159, 37-46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Christensen P E S 1980 The biology of Bettongia penicillatta (Gray 1837) and Macropus eugenii (Desmarest 1817) in relation to fire. Bulletin of the Woods and Forests Department of Western Australia 91, 90 pp.

  • Chu Chou M and Grace L J 1982 Mycorrhizal fungi of Eucalyptus in the North Island of New Zealand. Soil Biol. Biochem. 14, 122-137.

    Google Scholar 

  • Claridge A W and Barry S C 2000 Factors influencing the distribution of medium-sized ground-dwelling mammals in southeastern mainland Australia. Aust. Ecol. 25, 676-688.

    Google Scholar 

  • Claridge A W and Cork S J 1994 Nutritional value of hypogeous fungal sporocarps for the long-nosed potoroo (Potorous tridactylus), a forest-dwelling mycophagous marsupial. Aust. J. Zool. 42, 701-710.

    Google Scholar 

  • Claridge AW, Tanton M T, Seebeck J H, Cork S J and Cunningham R B 1992 Establishment of ectomycorrhizae on the roots of two species Eucalyptus from fungal spores contained in the faeces of the long-nosed potoroo (Potorous tridactylus). Aust. J. Ecol. 17, 207-217.

    Google Scholar 

  • Claridge A W, Robinson A P, Tanton M T and Cunningham R B 1993a Seasonal production of hypogeous fungal sporocarps in a mixed-species eucalypt forest stand in south-eastern Australia. Aust. J. Bot. 41, 145-167.

    Google Scholar 

  • Claridge A W, Tanton M T and Cunningham R B 1993b Hypogeal fungi in the diet of the long-nosed potoroo (Potorous tridactylus) in mixed-species and regrowth eucalypt stands in south-eastern Australia. Wildl. Res. 20, 321-337.

    Google Scholar 

  • Claridge A W, Cunningham R B and Tanton M T 1993c Foraging patterns of the long-nosed potoroo (Potorous tridactylus) for hypogeal fungi in mixed-species and regrowth eucalypt forest stands in south-eastern Australia. For. Ecol. Manage. 61, 75-90.

    Google Scholar 

  • Claridge A W, Castellano M A and Trappe J M 1996 Fungi as food resource for mammals. In Fungi of Australia Volume 1B: Introduction-Fungi in the Environment. Eds. K Mallett and C Grgurinovic. pp. 239-267. Australian Biological Resources Study: Canberra.

    Google Scholar 

  • Claridge A W, Trappe J M, Cork S J and Claridge D L 1999 Mycophagy by small mammals in the coniferous forests of North America: nutritional value of sporocarps of Rhizopogon vinicolor, a common hypogeous fungus. J. Comp. Physiol. B 169, 172-178.

    Google Scholar 

  • Claridge A W, Cork S J and Trappe J M 2000a Diversity and habitat relationships of hypogeous fungi. I. Study design, sampling techniques and general survey results. Biodiv. Conserv. 9, 151-173.

    Google Scholar 

  • Claridge A W, Barry S C, Cork S J and Trappe J M 2000b Diversity and habitat relationships of hypogeous fungi. II. Factors influencing the occurrence and number of taxa. Biodiv. Conserv. 9, 175-199.

    Google Scholar 

  • Claridge A W, Trappe J M and Claridge D L 2001 Mycophagy by the swamp wallaby (Wallabia bicolor): a disperser of hypogeous fungi in recently burned habitats. Wildl. Res. 28, 643-645.

    Google Scholar 

  • Colgan W III and Claridge A W 2002 Mycorrhizal effectiveness of Rhizopogon spores recovered from faecal pellets of small forestdwelling mammals. Mycol. Res. (in press).

  • Dell B and Malajczuk N 1985 Structure of Hysterangium-Eucalyptus ectomycorrhizas. In Proceedings of the 6th North American Conference on Mycorrhizae. pp. 446. 25-29th June 1984, Bend, OR, USA. Ed. R. Molina. Published by the Forestry Research Laboratory, Corvallis, OR.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dell B, Malajczuk N, Grove T S and Thomson G 1990 Ectomycorrhiza formation in Eucalyptus. IV. Ectomycorrhizas in the sporocarps of the hypogeous fungi Mesophellia and Castoreum in Eucalypt forests of Western Australia. New Phytol. 114, 449-456.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dixon R K, Wright G M, Behrns G T, Teskey R O and Hinckley T M 1980 Water deficits and root growth of ectomycorrhizal white oak seedlings. Can. J. For. Res. 10, 545-548.

    Google Scholar 

  • Donaldson R and Stoddart M 1994 Detection of hypogeous fungi by the Tasmanian bettong (Bettongia gaimardi: Marsupialia; Macropodoidea). J. Chem. Ecol. 20, 1201-1207.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gill A M 1975 Fire and the Australian flora: a review. Aust. For. 38, 4-25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Green K, Mitchell A T and Tennant P 1998 Home range and microhabitat use by the long-footed potoroo, Potorous longipes. Wildl. Res. 25, 357-372.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grove T S and LeTacon F 1993 Mycorrhiza in plantation forestry. Adv. Plant Pathol. 8, 191-227.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grove T S, Malajczuk N, Burgess T, Thomson B D and Hardy G 1991 Growth responses of plantation eucalypts to inoculation with selected ectomycorrhizal fungi. Proceedings of IUFRO Symposium on Intensive Forestry: The Role of Eucalypts, 86-93.

  • Fogel R 1992 Evolutionary processes in truffles and false-truffles: evidence from distribution of hypogeous fungi in the Great Basin, USA. Micol. Veg. Mediterranea 7, 13-30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson C N 1994a Fruiting of hypogeous fungi in dry sclerophyll forest in Tasmania, Australia: seasonal variation and annual production. Mycol. Res. 98, 1173-1182.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson C N 1994b Feeding activity of the Tasmanian bettong (Bettongia gaimardi) in relation to vegetation patterns. Wildl. Res. 21, 249-255.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson C N 1994c Nutritional ecology of a mycophagous marsupial in relation to production of hypogeous fungi. Ecology 75, 2015-2021.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson C N 1994d Mycophagy and spore dispersal by a ratkangaroo: consumption of ectomycorrhizal taxa in relation to their abundance. Funct. Ecol. 8, 464-468.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson C N 1995 Interactions between fire, mycophagous mammals, and dispersal of ectomycorrhizal fungi in Eucalyptus forests. Oecologia 104, 467-475.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson C N 1997 Fire and habitat management for a mycophagous marsupial, the Tasmanian bettong Bettongia gaimardi. Aust. J. Ecol. 22, 101-105.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kinnear J E, Cockson A, Christensen P E S and Main A R 1979 The nutritional biology of ruminants and ruminant-like mammals-a new approach. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 64A, 357-365.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lamont B B, Ralph C S and Christensen P E S 1985 Mycophagous marsupials as dispersal agents for ectomycorrhizal fungi on Eucalyptus calophylla and Gastrolobium bilobum. New Phytol. 101, 651-656.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laurance W F 1997 A distributional survey and habitat model for the endangered northern bettong Bettongia tropica in tropical Queensland. Biol. Conserv. 82, 47-60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lawrence J F 1988 Mycophagy in coleoptera: feeding strategies and morphological adaptations. In Insect-Fungus Interactions. Eds. N Wilding, N M Collins, P M Hammond and J F Webber. pp. 1-23. Royal Entomological Society of London, 14th Symposium. Academic Press, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lu X, Malajczuk N and Dell B 1998 Mycorrhiza formation and growth of Eucalyptus globulus seedlings with spores of various ectomycorrhizal fungi. Mycorrhiza 8, 81-86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lu X, Malajczuk N, Brundrett M and Dell B 1999 Fruiting of putative ectomycorrhizal fungi under blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus) plantations of different ages in Western Australia. Mycorrhiza 8, 255-261.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malajczuk N 1988 Ecology and management of ectomycorrhiza in regenerated ecosystems in Australia. In Mycorrhizae in the Next Decade. Practical Applications and Research Priorities. Eds. D M Sylvia, L L Hung and J H Graham. pp. 290-292. University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malajczuk N, McComb A J and Loneragan J F 1975 Phosphorus uptake and growth of mycorrhizal and uninfected seedlings of Eucalyptus calophylla R.Br. Aust. J. Bot. 23, 231-238.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malajczuk N, Molina R and Trappe J M 1982 Ectomycorrhiza formation in Eucalyptus. I. Pure culture synthesis, host specificity and mycorrhizal compatability with Pinus radiata. New Phytol. 91, 467-482.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malajczuk N, Dell B and Bougher N 1987a Ectomycorrhiza formation in Eucalyptus. III. Superficial ectomycorrhizas initiated by Hysterangium and Cortinarius species. New Phytol. 105, 421-428.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malajczuk N, Trappe J M and Molina R 1987b Interrelationships among some ectomycorrhizal trees, hypogeous fungi and small mammals: Western Australian and northwestern American parallels. Aust. J. Ecol. 12, 53-55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marx, D H 1973 Ectomycorrhizae as biological deterrants to pathogenic root infection. Annu. Rev. Phytopath. 10, 429-454.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maser C, Trappe J M and Nussbaum R A 1978 Fungal-small mammal interrelationships with emphasis on Oregon coniferous forests. Ecology 59, 799-809.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGee P A 1996 The Australia Zygomycetous mycorrhizal fungi: the genus Densospora gen. nov. Aust. Syst. Bot. 9, 329-336.

    Google Scholar 

  • McIlwee A P and Johnson C N 1997 The contribution of fungus to the diets of three mycophagous marsupials in Eucalyptus forests, revealed by stable isotope analysis. Funct. Ecol. 12, 223-231.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller S L McClean T M 1994 Persistence of basidiospores and sclerotia of ectomycorrhizal fungi and Morchella in soil. Mycologia 86, 89-95.

    Google Scholar 

  • Millington S, Leach D N, Wyllie S G and Claridge A W 1997 Aroma profile of the Australian truffle-like fungus Mesophellia glauca In Flavor Analysis-Developments in Isolation and Characterisation. Eds. C J Mussinana and M J Morello. pp. 331-342. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Montecchi A and Sarasini M 2000 Fungi Ipogei d'Europa. A.M.B. Fondazione. Centro Studi Micologici, 714 pp.

  • Nix H A 1981 The environment of Terra Australis. In Ecological Biogeography of Australia. Ed. A Keast. pp. 105-133. Dr W Junk, The Hague.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parke J L, Linderman R G and Black R H 1983 The role of ectomycorrhizas in drought tolerance of Douglas-fir seedlings. New Phytol. 95, 83-95.

    Google Scholar 

  • Read D J 1987 In support of Frank's organic nitrogen theory. Angew. Bot. 61, 25-37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Recher H F and Christensen P E S 1981 Fire and the evolution of the Australian biota. In Ecological Biogeography of Australia. Ed. A. Keast. pp. 137-161. Dr W Junk, The Hague.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reddell P and Malajczuk N 1984 Formation of mycorrhizae by Jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata Donn ex Smith) in litter and soil. Aust. J. Bot. 32, 511-520.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reddell, P. and Milnes, A.R. 1992 Mycorrhizas and other specialised nutrient-acquisition strategies: their occurrence in woodland plants from Kakadu and their role in rehabilitation of waste rock dumps at a local uranium mine. Aust. J. Bot. 40, 223-242.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reddell P and Spain A V 1991 Earthworms as vectors for viable propagules of mycorrhizal fungi. Soil Biol. Biochem. 23, 767-774.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reddell P, Spain A V and Hopkins M 1997 Dispersal of spores of mycorrhiza fungi in scats of native mammals in tropical forests of northeastern Australia. Biotropica 29, 184-192.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichelt R C and May T W 1997 Malleefowl eating fungi and orchid tubers. Vic. Nat. 114, 98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scotts, D J and Seebeck J H 1989 Ecology of Potorous longipes (Marsupialia: Potoroidae): and preliminary recommendations for management of its habitat in Victoria. Arthur Rylah Institute Technical Report Series 62, 129 pp.

  • Simpson J A 2001 More on mycophagous birds. Australasian Mycol. 19, 49-51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith S E and Read D J 1997 Mycorrhizal Symbiosis. Academic Press, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Specht R L 1996 The influence of soils on the evolution of eucalypts. In Nutrition of Eucalypts. P M Attiwill and M A Adams. pp. 31-60. CSIRO, Collingwood.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor R J 1992 Distribution and abundance of fungal sporocarps and diggings of the Tasmanian bettong, Bettongia gaimardi. Aust. J. Ecol. 17, 155-160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thiers H D 1984 The secotioid syndrome. Mycologia 76, 1-8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomson B D, Grove T S, Malajczuk N and Hardy, G E St J. 1994 The effectiveness of ectomycorrhizal fungi in increasing growth of Eucalyptus globulus Labill. in relation to root colonisation and hyphal development in soil. New Phytol. 126, 517-524.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomson, B.D., Hardy, G.E. St J., Malajczuk, N. and Grove, T.S. 1996 The survival and development of inoculant ectomycorrhizal fungi on roots of outplanted Eucalyptus globulus Labill. Plant Soil 178, 247-253.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tommerup I C and Bougher N L 1999 The role of ectomycorrhizal fungi in nutrient cycling in temperate Australian woodlands. In Temperate Eucalypt Woodlands in Australia: Biology, Conservation, Management and Restoration. Eds. R J Hobbs and C J Yates. pp. 190-224. Beatty and Sons, Chipping Norton, Surrey.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tory M K, May T W, Keane P J and Bennett A F 1997 Mycophagy in small mammals: a comparison of the occurrence and diversity of hypogeal fungi in the diet of the long-nosed potoroo Potorous tridactylus and the bush rat Rattus fuscipes from southwestern Victoria, Australia. Aust. J. Ecol. 22, 460-470.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trappe J M 1988 Lessons from Alpine fungi. Mycologia 80, 1-10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trappe J M and Maser C 1976 Germination of spores of Glomus macrocarpa (Endogonaceae) after passage through a rodent digestive tract. Mycologia 68, 433-436.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vernes K and Haydon D T 2001 Effects of fire on northern bettong (Bettongia tropica) foraging behavious. Austral Ecol. 26, 649-659.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warcup J H 1980 Ectomycorrhizal associations of Australian indigenous plants. New Phytol. 85, 531-535.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warcup J H 1985 Ectomycorrhiza formation by Glomus tubiforme. New Phytol. 99, 267-272.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warcup, J H 1990a Occurrence of ectomycorrhizal and saprophytic discomycetes after a wild fire in a eucalypt forest. Mycol. Res. 94, 1065-1069.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warcup, J H 1990b Taxonomy, culture and mycorrhizal associations of some zygosporic Endogonaceae. Mycol. Res. 94, 173-178.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warcup, J H 1991 The fungi forming mycorrhizas on eucalypt seedlings in regeneration coupes in Tasmania. Mycol. Res. 95, 329-332.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service, Threatened Species Unit, Southern Directorate, PO Box 2115, Queanbeyan, New South Wales, 2620, Australia

    Andrew W. Claridge

Authors
  1. Andrew W. Claridge
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Claridge, A.W. Ecological role of hypogeous ectomycorrhizal fungi in Australian forests and woodlands. Plant and Soil 244, 291–305 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020262317539

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020262317539

Search

Navigation