Growth form matters-Crustose lichens on dead wood are sensitive to forest management

Lichens have a vital role in forest ecosystems and they are a threatened group in boreal forests. However, the conservation ecology of the total lichen community has very rarely been studied. Here we studied lichen species and communities, including macrolichens (=foliose and fruticose growth forms) and rarely studied crustose li-chens, on decaying wood in boreal spruce-dominated forests in Finland. We also studied obligate lignicoles that grow only on dead wood and are mostly crustose in growth form. Species richness and community composition were examined on decaying logs and natural or cut stumps of Picea abies at different decay stages (2-5) in 14 stands, half of which were natural or seminatural and half recently managed. We used thorough search to yield a species list as close to complete as possible. Our study questions were: 1) Are species richness and lichen communities different in natural and managed forests, and if so, are there differences between macrolichens, crustose lichens and obligate lignicoles in how they respond to forest management? 2) How does the decay stage and dead wood type affect the lichens, i.e. are there differences between stumps and logs? We found a total of 127 lichen species. Most (75 %) of the recorded lichen species were crustose. With a generalized linear model we found that crustose lichens and obligate lignicoles had a higher species richness in natural than managed forests, but macrolichen richness was not significantly affected by forest management. Utilizing non-metric multidi-mensional scaling we discovered that site level community composition of macrolichens, crustose lichens and obligate lignicoles was also significantly different between natural and managed forests. We found that on dead wood unit level the decay stage had a significant effect on species richness and community composition, so that the species richness of all studied groups declined during the decay process. The dead wood type (stump vs log) had a significant effect on species richness of macrolichens and obligate lignicoles, both for which species richness was higher on logs than on stumps, as well as on the communities of crustose lichens.Peer reviewe

Dead wood profile of a semi-natural boreal forest - implications for sampling

Dead wood profile of a forest is a useful tool for describing forest characteristics and assessing forest disturbance history. Nevertheless, there are few studies on dead wood profiles, including both coarse and fine dead wood, and on the effect of sampling intensity on the dead wood estimates. In a semi-natural boreal forest, we measured every dead wood item over 2 cm in diameter from 80 study plots. From eight plots, we further recorded dead wood items below 2 cm in diameter. Based on these data we constructed the full dead wood profile, i.e. the overall number of dead wood items and their distribution among different tree species, volumes of different size and decay stage categories. We discovered that while the number of small dead wood items was immense, their number dropped drastically from the diameter below 1 cm to diameters 2-3 cm. Different tree species had notably different abundance-diameter distribution patterns: spruce dead wood comprised most strikingly the smallest diameter fractions, whereas aspen dead wood comprised a larger share of large-diameter items. Most of the dead wood volume constituted of large pieces (>10 cm in diameter), and 62% of volume was birch. The variation in the dead wood estimates was small for the numerically dominant tree species and smallest diameter categories, but high for the sub-dominant tree species and larger size categories. In conclusion, the more the focus is on rare tree species and large dead wood items, the more comprehensive should the sampling be.Peer reviewe

Growth form matters – Crustose lichens on dead wood are sensitive to forest management

Lichens have a vital role in forest ecosystems and they are a threatened group in boreal forests. However, the conservation ecology of the total lichen community has very rarely been studied. Here we studied lichen species and communities, including macrolichens (=foliose and fruticose growth forms) and rarely studied crustose lichens, on decaying wood in boreal spruce-dominated forests in Finland. We also studied obligate lignicoles that grow only on dead wood and are mostly crustose in growth form. Species richness and community composition were examined on decaying logs and natural or cut stumps of Picea abies at different decay stages (2–5) in 14 stands, half of which were natural or seminatural and half recently managed. We used thorough search to yield a species list as close to complete as possible. Our study questions were: 1) Are species richness and lichen communities different in natural and managed forests, and if so, are there differences between macrolichens, crustose lichens and obligate lignicoles in how they respond to forest management? 2) How does the decay stage and dead wood type affect the lichens, i.e. are there differences between stumps and logs? We found a total of 127 lichen species. Most (75 %) of the recorded lichen species were crustose. With a generalized linear model we found that crustose lichens and obligate lignicoles had a higher species richness in natural than managed forests, but macrolichen richness was not significantly affected by forest management. Utilizing non-metric multidimensional scaling we discovered that site level community composition of macrolichens, crustose lichens and obligate lignicoles was also significantly different between natural and managed forests. We found that on dead wood unit level the decay stage had a significant effect on species richness and community composition, so that the species richness of all studied groups declined during the decay process. The dead wood type (stump vs log) had a significant effect on species richness of macrolichens and obligate lignicoles, both for which species richness was higher on logs than on stumps, as well as on the communities of crustose lichens.</p

Effects of local forest continuity on the diversity of fungi on standing dead pines

Human-induced fragmentation affects forest continuity, i.e. availability of a suitable habitat for the target species over a time period. The dependence of wood-inhabiting fungi on landscape level continuity has been well demonstrated, but the importance of local continuity has remained controversial. In this study, we explored the effects of local forest continuity (microhabitat and stand level) on the diversity of wood-inhabiting fungi on standing dead trunks of Scots pine (Paws sylvestris L.). We studied species richness and community composition of decomposers and Micarea lichens on 70 trunks in 14 forests in central Finland that differed in their state of continuity. We used dendrochronological methods to assess the detailed history of each study trunk, i.e. the microhabitat continuity. The stand continuity was estimated as dead wood diversity and past management intensity (number of stumps). We recorded 107 species (91 decomposers, 16 Micarea lichens), with a total of 510 occurrences. Using generalized linear mixed models, we found that none of the variables explained decomposer species richness, but that Micarea species richness was positively dependent on the time since tree death. Dead wood diversity was the most important variable determining the composition of decomposer communities. For Micarea lichens, the community composition was best explained by the combined effect of years from death, site and dead wood diversity. However, these effects were rather tentative. The results are in line with those of previous studies suggesting the restricted significance of local forest continuity for wood-inhabiting fungi. However, standing dead pines that have been available continuously over long periods seem to be important for species-rich communities of Micarea lichens. Rare specialists (e.g. on veteran trees) may be more sensitive to local continuity, and should be at the center of future research.Peer reviewe

Wood-inhabiting fungal responses to forest naturalness vary among morpho-groups

The general negative impact of forestry on wood-inhabiting fungal diversity is well recognized, yet the effect of forest naturalness is poorly disentangled among different fungal groups inhabiting dead wood of different tree species. We studied the relationship between forest naturalness, log characteristics and diversity of different fungal morpho-groups inhabiting large decaying logs of similar quality in spruce dominated boreal forests. We sampled all non-lichenized fruitbodies from birch, spruce, pine and aspen in 12 semi-natural forest sites of varying level of naturalness. The overall fungal community composition was mostly determined by host tree species. However, when assessing the relevance of the environmental variables separately for each tree species, the most important variable varied, naturalness being the most important explanatory variable for fungi inhabiting pine and aspen. More strikingly, the overall species richness increased as the forest naturalness increased, both at the site and log levels. At the site scale, the pattern was mostly driven by the discoid and pyrenoid morpho-groups inhabiting pine, whereas at the log scale, it was driven by pileate and resupinate morpho-groups inhabiting spruce. Although our study demonstrates that formerly managed protected forests serve as effective conservation areas for most wood-inhabiting fungal groups, it also shows that conservation planning and management should account for group- or host tree -specific responses.Peer reviewe

Morphological traits predict host-tree specialization in wood-inhabiting fungal communities

Tree species is one of the most important determinants of wood-inhabiting fungal community composition, yet its relationship with fungal reproductive and dispersal traits remains poorly understood. We studied fungal communities (total of 657 species) inhabiting broadleaved and coniferous dead wood (total of 192 logs) in 12 semi-natural boreal forests. We utilized a trait-based hierarchical joint species distribution model to examine how the relationship between dead wood quality and species occurrence correlates with reproductive and dispersal morphological traits. Broadleaved trees had higher species richness than conifers, due to discomycetoids and pyrenomycetoids specializing in them. Resupinate and pileate species were generally specialized in coniferous dead wood. Fungi inhabiting broadleaved trees had larger and more elongated spores than fungi in conifers. Spore size was larger and spore shape more spherical in species occupying large dead wood units. These results indicate the selective effect of dead wood quality, visible not only in species diversity, but also in reproductive and dispersal traits. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd and British Mycological Society. All rights reserved.peerReviewe

New national and regional biological records for Finland 5. Contributions to agaricoid and ascomycetoid taxa of fungi 4

One genera of agaricoid fungi (Basidiomycota): Romagnesiella and 12 species are reported as new to Finland: Agaricus macrocarpus, Arrhenia obatra, Arrhenia obscurata, Arrhenia rigidipes, Coprinellus brevisetulosus, Coprinus candidatus, Entoloma plebejum, Hydnum vesterholtii, Inocybe phaeocystidiosa, Mycena clavata, Omphalina arctica and Romagnesiella clavus. Two genera of ascomycetoid fungi (Ascomycota): Strossmayeria, Phaeomollisia and 8 species are reported as new to Finland: Arachnopeziza delicatula, Hyaloscypha diabolica, Hyalopeziza cf. tianschanica, Phaeomollisia piceae, Phialina pseudopuberula, Sphaeropezia hepaticarum, Strossmayeria basitricha and Trichopeziza subsulphurea. Information of species recently published elsewhere: Cortinarius angustisporus, C. cacaodiscus, C. caesioarmeniacus, C. centrirufus, C. crassisporus, C. cruentiphyllus, C. davemallochii, C. ferrugineovelatus, C. furvus, C. fuscescens, C. murinascens, C. privignipallens, C. pseudofervidus, C. roseivelatus, C. roseocastaneus, C. subbrunneoideus, C. subexitiosus, C. squamivenetus, C. uraceisporus, Hebeloma eburneum, H. salicicola, Hygrophorus exiguus and Psathyrella fennoscandica is brought here together. New records of little collected and rare taxa Coprinopsis patouillardii, Cuphophyllus cinerellus, Galerina perplexa, Galerina pruinatipes, Gorgoniceps hypothallosa, Inocybe boreocarelica, Marasmius setosus, Psathyrella potteri, Psathyrella tenuicula, Russula adulterina, Russula pyriodora, Scutellinia trechispora, Sowerbyella imperialis and Volvariella murinella are also listed. Corrections of previous information are given on: Cortinarius angulosus (under C. duristipes), Coprinopsis patouillardii and Psathyrella potteri

New national and regional biological records for Finland 8. Contributions to agaricoid, gastroid and ascomycetoid taxa of fungi 5

Two genera: Marchandiomyces, Rectipilus and 16 species of agaricoid and gastroid fungi (Basidiomycota): Clitopilus daamsii, Coprinopsis canoceps, Coprinopsis laanii, Cortinarius albolens, Cortinarius flexibilifolius, Cortinarius megacystidiosus, Cortinarius russulaespermus, Cortinarius tillamookensis, Inocybe assimilata, Laccaria chibinensis, Laccaria violaceibasis, Lactarius porninsis, Lycoperdon mammiforme, Marchandiomyces aurantiacus, Psathyrella pygmaea and Rectipilus fasciculatus are reported here as new to Finland. One genus of ascomycetoid fungi (Ascomycota): Balsamia and four species: Balsamia platyspora, Barbatosphaeria arboricola, Calycellina betulina and Geoglossum elongatum are reported here as new to Finland. A new combination for Belonium betulinum (under Calycellina betulina) is proposed. Information of species recently published elsewhere: Cortinarius alboamarescens, Cortinarius ochroamarus, Cortinarius pastoralis, Cortinarius fulvescentoideus, Cortinarius nymphatus, Cortinarius pseudobulliardioides, Cortinarius tenuifulvescens, Inocybe caprimulgi, Inocybe lacunarum, Inocybe substellata and Lamelloclavaria petersenii is brought here together. New records of little collected and rare taxa: Bovista tomentosa, Geastrum floriforme, Hygrophorus exiguus, Hysterangium crassum, Lactarius serifluus, Lepiota pseudolilacea, Leucopaxillus tricolor, Sarcosphaera coronaria, Scleroderma verrucosum, Squamanita contortipes, Tulostoma niveum and Volvariella reidii are also listed. Corrections of previous information are given on: Hysterangium coriaceum (under Hysterangium crassum) and Lepiota clypeolarioides (under Lepiota pseudolilacea)

Kotelosienet (pl. jäkälät).

Julkaisu: Suomen Lajitietokeskus 2019: Lajiluettelo 2018. Suomen Lajitietokeskus, Luonnontieteellinen keskusmuseo, Helsingin yliopisto, Helsinki.Kotelosienet (Ascomycota) on lajimäärällisesti sienten suurin ryhmä ja monet kotelosieniryhmät tunnetaan vielä hyvin huonosti. Tiedon taso verrattuna muihin sieniryhmiin on hyvin heikko. Maassamme on vielä suuri määrä tuntemattomia kotelosienilajeja