The six-year decomposition of coarse woody debris drives shifts in soil fungal communities in subtropical forests.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Coarse woody debris (CWD) plays a vital role in forest ecosystems, serving as a reservoir for carbon sequestration. While global climate change is expected to exacerbate forest disturbances and lead to a significant accumulation of CWD, the effect of CWD decomposition on the composition, diversity and functional traits of soil fungal communities remains unclear, especially for subtropical forests with high tree species diversity.

Methods

Here, we conducted a 6-year in situ field experiment (2018-2024) in a subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest in southern China. We used high-throughput sequencing and qPCR to examine how decomposition of three dominant tree species (conifer, broadleaved, and woody monocot moso bamboo) influences soil fungal composition

SUBMITTER: Wang N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12497771 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature