Ectomycorrhizal fungal communities of secondary tropical forests dominated by Tristaniopsis in Bangka Island, Indonesia

PLoS One. 2019 Sep 9;14(9):e0221998. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0221998. eCollection 2019.

Abstract

In Southeast Asia, primary tropical rainforests are usually dominated by ectomycorrhizal (ECM) trees belonging to Dipterocarpaceae, although arbuscular mycorrhizal trees often outcompete them after disturbances such as forest fires and clear-cutting, thus preventing dipterocarp regeneration. In some secondary tropical forests, however, potentially ECM trees belonging to Tristaniopsis (Myrtaceae) become dominant and may help ECM dipterocarp forests to recover. However, we have no information about their mycorrhizal status in these settings. In this study, we analyzed ECM fungal communities in tropical secondary forests dominated by Tristaniopsis and investigated which ECM fungal species are shared with other tropical or temperate areas. In total, 100 samples were collected from four secondary forests dominated by Tristaniopsis on Bangka Island. ECM tips in the soil samples were subjected to molecular analyses to identify both ECM and host species. Based on a >97% ITS sequence similarity threshold, we identified 56 ECM fungal species dominated by Thelephoraceae, Russulaceae, and Clavulinaceae. Some of the ECM fungal species were shared between dominant Tristaniopsis and coexisting Eucalyptus or Quercus trees, including 5 common to ECM fungi recorded in a primary mixed dipterocarp forest at Lambir Hill, Malaysia. In contrast, no ECM fungal species were shared with other geographical regions, even with Tristaniopsis in New Caledonia. These results imply that secondary tropical forests dominated by Tristaniopsis harbor diverse ECM fungi, including those that inhabit primary dipterocarp forests in the same geographical region. They may function as refugia for ECM fungi, given that dipterocarp forests are disappearing quickly due to human activity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Forests*
  • Indonesia
  • Islands*
  • Mycorrhizae / isolation & purification*
  • Mycorrhizae / physiology
  • Myrtaceae / microbiology*
  • Trees
  • Tropical Climate*

Grants and funding

This study was supported by Japan Science and Technology Agency/Japan International Cooperation Agency, Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) (https://www.jst.go.jp/global/english/about.html) and JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 25257411 (https://kaken.nii.ac.jp/grant/KAKENHI-PROJECT-25257411/) and 16H02759 (https://kaken.nii.ac.jp/grant/KAKENHI-PROJECT-16H02759/) to KN. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.