A. W. Claridge, S.J. Cork and J. M. Trappe
(Biodiversity and Conservation, 2000, 9: 151-199)
Hypogeous fungi are a large yet poorly known component of biodiversity
in forests of southeastern mainland Australia. To better define their diversity
and habitat relationships, we identified and counted fruit-bodies at 136
study sites representing the climatic, geologic and topographic features
of the region. More than 250 species (examples)
have been collected in four sampling events. Autumn averaged higher diversity
of species and greater number of fruit-bodies than the same sites sampled
in spring. Most major taxa occurred at more sites in autumn than in spring,
although a few occurred more frequently in spring than in autumn. These
patterns likely reflect seasonal changes in soil moisture and temperature
levels. Statistical models based on various environmental attributes measured
for each site were developed for the occurrence of several common taxa.
At a landscape scale, climatic factors such as mean minimimum temperature
of the coldest month and annual mean moisture index were important explanatory
variables for most taxa examined, but the type of response varied. More
locally, topographic position, soil fertility, time since last fire and
micro-habitat structures such as the leaf litter layer and number of large
fallen trees also influenced the distribution of taxa in different ways.
A model was also developed for the number of fungal species occurring at
each site. Important explanatory variables were type of substrate, topography
and diversity of potential host eucalypt species. Possible implications
of our findings for forest management and habitat conservation are being
developed.
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