Location, location, location: priority effects in wood decay communities may vary between sites

Priority effects are known to have a major influence on fungal community development in decomposing wood, but it has not yet been established whether these effects are consistent between different geographical locations. Here, beech (Fagus sylvatica) wood disks that had been pre-colonised with three wood decay basidiomycetes were placed in seven woodland sites with similar characteristics for 12-24 months, and the successor communities profiled using culture-based techniques coupled with amplicon sequencing. On the majority of sites assembly history differed as a result of primary versus secondary resource capture only (i.e. different communities developed in uncolonised control disks compared to those that had been pre-colonised), but on certain sites distinct successor communities followed each pre-coloniser species. This study provides preliminary evidence that differences in abiotic factors and species pools between sites can cause spatial variation in how priority effects influence wood decay communities

Priority effects during fungal community establishment in beech wood

Assembly history of fungal communities has a crucial role in the decomposition of woody resources, and hence nutrient cycling and ecosystem function. However, it has not been clearly determined whether the fungal species that arrive first may, potentially, dictate the subsequent pathway of community development, that is, whether there is a priority effect at the species level. We used traditional culture-based techniques coupled with sequencing of amplified genetic markers to profile the fungal communities in beech (Fagus sylvatica) disks that had been pre-colonised separately with nine species from various stages of fungal succession. Clear differences in community composition were evident following pre-colonisation by different species with three distinct successor communities identified, indicating that individual species may have pivotal effects in driving assembly history. Priority effects may be linked to biochemical alteration of the resource and combative ability of the predecessor