Ectomycorrhizal communities in fire prone environments: essential partners for pinetrees re-establishment

Abstract

Buscardo, E., Rodríguez-Echeverría, S., De Angelis, P., Freitas, H. (2009). Ectomycorrhizal communities in fire prone environments: essential partners for pinetrees re-establishment. Ecosistemas 18(2):55-63.

Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) mutualistic associations between plants and fungi are obligatory component of most plant communities and play an important role in nutrient cycling and ecosystem functioning. ECM fungi, and in particular spore bank and other resistant propagules, are also involved in succession processes facilitating regeneration following disturbance events. Obligate ECM species in Mediterranean fire prone environments, in particular pine forests, are highly dependent on the presence of fungal inoculum for a successful succession establishment after fire events. ECM fungal communities can be affected by fires in different ways depending on fire characteristics and on predisturbance ecosystem conditions. Generally, the ECM community composition has a strong resemblance to the composition of the pre-fire spore bank community. This appears to be caused by survival of the soil spore bank of typical early-stage fungi, but other factors, which will be consider here, can shape the ECM community and thus the performance of pine seedlings.