Experimentally manipulating forest structure to mimic management strategies: effects on deadwood fungal diversity and decomposition.

ABSTRACT: Deadwood fungi are extremely diverse and crucial for carbon turnover in forests. To achieve multifunctional forests, we need to better understand the relationships between diversity, management, and ecosystem processes. We tested the effects of forest structure, i.e. canopy cover and deadwood enrichment, on fungal diversity and mass loss of European beech and Scots pine. We additionally assessed the effects of fungal diversity on mass loss. We expected deadwood enrichment to better explain fungal diversity, while canopy cover, alongside fungal diversity, would best explain mass loss. Overall, host tree species was more important than forest structure in explaining diversity. Beech fungal diversity was higher under closed canopies, while pine fungal diversity increased with some types of de

SUBMITTER: Lira Dyson B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12927422 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature