Effects of thinning treatment on an ectomycorrhizal succession under Scots pine

We describe a 16 yr dataset of ectomycorrhizal fruit bodies under Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), starting from seedlings, and explore the effects of a 50% thinning treatment imposed in year 12. The over-riding pattern in the data was of successional development, with Paxillus involutus and Laccaria proxima in the earliest years, followed by Suillus species, while in later years Amanita and Cortinarius species became prominent. The typical pattern was for each species in turn to increase to a maximum count then gradually decline without actually disappearing from the community (an addition succession). For nine out of the 30 species recorded the time profiles were fitted significantly by a long-normal curve, although the best-fit lognormal models consistently under-estimated the peak count. Thinning increased counts of Suillus bovinus, Gomphidius roseus and Cortinarius semisanguineus, but overall its effect on the community was minor. Rainfall in September was weakly correlated with successional advancement (measured as DCA first axis scores). Mean fruiting date increased significantly as the stands aged.