Wood-Decay Fungi Fructifying in Mediterranean Deciduous Oak Forests: A Community Composition, Richness and Productivity Study.

first_pagesettingsOrder Article Reprints Open AccessArticle Wood-Decay Fungi Fructifying in Mediterranean Deciduous Oak Forests: A Community Composition, Richness and Productivity Study by Ángel Ponce 1,2,Elena Salerni 3,*ORCID,Maria Nives D’Aguanno 4ORCID andClaudia Perini 3,5ORCID 1 Department of Agricultural and Forest Sciences and Engineering, University of Lleida, Av. Alcalde Rovira Roure 191, E-25198 Lleida, Spain 2 Joint Research Unit CTFC—AGROTECNIO—CERCA, Av. Alcalde Rovira Roure 191, E-25198 Lleida, Spain 3 Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, Via P.A. Mattioli 4, 53100 Siena, Italy 4 Institute of Microbiome and Applied Sciences, Malta Life Sciences Park (LS2.1.12—LS2.1.15), SGN 3000 San Gwann, Malta 5 NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, 90133 Palermo, Italy * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Forests 2023, 14(7), 1326; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14071326 Received: 5 June 2023 / Revised: 23 June 2023 / Accepted: 25 June 2023 / Published: 28 June 2023 (This article belongs to the Special Issue Diversity, Abundance, and Distribution of Wood-Decay Fungi) Download Browse Figures Review Reports Versions Notes Abstract Deadwood is involved in several important ecological roles, being the fundamental habitat of wood-decay fungi. At the same time, this polyphyletic group of fungi is the principal agent of wood decomposition, regulating the carbon cycle and the food resource for many other organisms. It is known that the diversity and community composition of wood-decay fungi are related to the tree species, decay stage and size of the woody debris in which they are living. Nevertheless, there is a lack of information on Mediterranean Quercus cerris L. forests. In response, we explored how wood-decay fungi colonize different woody types and how the productivity, richness and community composition of these fungi is influenced by the decay stage and size of the deadwood. Our results indicate that the studied groups, i.e., Ascomycetes, Corticioids, Polyporoids and Heterobasidiomycetes responded differently to the woody debris classes. Moreover, we note the high importance of smaller and soft-decayed woody debris for community composition and richness, hosting a great number of species, in addition to the positive effect of the heterogeneity of the woody debris size for wood-decay fungi productivity.