Basidiome production of ectomycorrhizal and saprophytic agaricoid fungi respond differently to forest management

Abstract

Forest management generates border effects in mature dense forests. How agaricoid fungi species react to this disturbance depends on climatic and site conditions, as well as forest management system used and its intensity. We compared abundance and richness of ectomycorrhizal and saprophytic species in managed and unmanaged stands in Nothofagus pumilio (Poepp. & Endl.) Krasser forests of Patagonia, Argentina. We found that basidiome abundance and richness of ectomycorrhizal and saprophytic species were favoured by different forest structure and climatic factors. Ectomycorrhizal species basidiome production was significantly correlated to mean relative humidity of the 15 days prior to sampling and tree density (number of trees per hectare) existing prior to management activities. The latter implies that the tree density an ecosystem is capable of sustaining is crucial to the establishment of ectomycorrhizal species. Saprophytic species were favoured by the increased amount of woody material generated by logging together with maximum temperature in the 15 days prior to sampling and mean annual precipitation. Our results indicate that agaricoid fungi are not affected by low- to medium-intensity forest management, establishing the forestry level that fungal community can tolerate without loss of species in Patagonia.