Affiliation:
1. Laboratory of Environmental Microbiology Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences Praha 4 Czech Republic
2. Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology Mendel University in Brno Brno Czech Republic
Abstract
AbstractAimHow community composition varies in space and what governs the variation has been extensively investigated in macroorganisms. However, we have only limited knowledge of microorganisms, especially fungi, despite their ecological and economic significance. Based on previous research, we define and test a series of hypotheses regarding the composition of fungal communities, their most influential drivers and their spatial scale dependence.LocationCzech Republic.Time periodPresent.Taxa studiedFungi.MethodsWe analysed the distance decay relationships, community composition and its drivers (physical distance, litter and soil chemistry, tree composition and climate) in fungi using multivariate analyses. We compared the results across three fungal ecological guilds (ectomycorrhizal fungi, saprotrophs and yeasts), two forest microhabitats (litter and bulk soil) and six spatial scales (from 5 m to 80 km) that comprehensively cover the Czech Republic.ResultsWe found that, similar to macroorganisms, the ectomycorrhizal fungi and saprotrophs showed marked distance–decay relationships, and their community composition was driven mainly by vegetation and dispersal at local scales but, at regional scales, by environmental effects. In contrast, the third fungal guild, the unicellular yeasts, showed little distance decay, suggesting extraordinary spatial homogeneity, as often seen in microorganisms, such as bacteria.Main conclusionsOur results underscore the remarkable variation in the community ecology of fungi, which seems to range well‐known patterns both from the macro‐ and the microworld. Knowledge of these patterns advances our understanding of the ecology of fungi, rather understudied organisms of significant ecological and economic importance, which our findings identify as a potentially suitable model for bridging the gaps between the biogeography of micro‐ and macroorganisms.
Funder
Grantová Agentura České Republiky
Subject
Ecology,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics,Global and Planetary Change