Leaf and root-associated fungal assemblages do not follow similar elevational diversity patterns

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Mycology
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Fungal diversity along environmental gradients is understudied compared to plants and animals.
• Environmental factors shaping fungal community composition remain poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how leaf and root-associated fungal diversity and composition change with elevation.
• To identify environmental variables influencing these fungal assemblages.

Main Methods:

• Utilized high-throughput sequencing of the Internal Transcribed Spacer 1 (ITS1) region.
• Explored fungal assemblages across three elevation gradients in French mountainous beech forests.
• Analyzed species richness and composition for ascomycetes and basidiomycetes, focusing on ectomycorrhizal fungi.

Main Results:

• Fungal richness did not significantly correlate with elevation, temperature, precipitation, or soil properties (pH, C:N ratio).
• Ascomycete species richness exhibited a mid-domain effect, peaking at mid-temperatures.
• Leaf and root fungal assemblages showed distinct compositional patterns with elevation.
• Leaf-associated fungal composition correlated mainly with mean annual temperature.
• Root-associated fungal composition was influenced equally by soil pH and temperature.
• Ectomycorrhizal fungal composition was also related to temperature and soil pH.

Conclusions:

• Above- and below-ground fungal assemblages are regulated by different environmental variables.
• Disparities may arise from differing climatic variable amplitudes between tree foliage and soil environments.