Effects of forest fragmentation on ectomycorrhizal fungal communities

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25660115
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Forest science
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: NARA Kazuhide 東京大学, 新領域創成科学研究科, 准教授 (60270899)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 森林断片化 / 共生微生物 / 菌根菌 / 群集

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Forests harbor various plant and animal species. But, due to human activities, forests have been quickly decreasing and becoming isolated, causing serious concern about biodiversity loss. Major forest trees are in symbiosis with soil inhabiting ectomycorrhizal fungi and depend on them for soil nutrients. Although these symbiotic microbes could greatly affect the fate of fragmented forests, we know nothing about the effect of forest fragmentation on ectomycorrhizal fungal communities. Here we investigated ectomycorrhizal fungal communities in forests of alpine dwarf pine, Pinus pumila. This host plant has been isolated in alpine habitats of some high mountains since the last ice age, providing an ideal opportunity for studying the long time effect of forest fragmentation. We found some new ectomycorrhizal fungi, which are likely to have co-evolved with P. pumila, and obtained some more interesting results concerning potential factors determining ectomycorrhizal fungal communities.

Free Research Field

森林微生物学