Fungal Footprints: Soil Fungal Communities in Black Walnut and Red Oak Forests

Soil fungal communities are critical for forest ecosystem functions in the Central Hardwood Region (CHR) of the USA. This evaluation, which took place in 2022-2023, investigates the influence of Juglans nigra (BW, black walnut) and Quercus rubra (NRO, Northern red oak) on soil properties and fungal community structures across three CHR sites. The objectives of this study are to investigate how the fungal communities identified beneath J. nigra and Q. rubra serve to influence biodiversity and soil health within hardwood plantations. Soils from two locations in Indiana and one in Michigan were examined and assessed for variations in fungal composition and diversity. Soil fungal communities were characterized using Illumina high-throughput sequencing while multivariate analysis was applied to analyze patterns in these fungal communities. These data provided insights into how environment, location, and tree species affect fungal community structure. Results indicate that J. nigra soils exhibited higher carbon (0.36%, 1.02%, 0.72%), nitrogen (25%, 29%, 56%), and pH (0.46, 1.08, 1.54) levels than Q. rubra soils across all three sites and foster greater fungal diversity. Specifically, J. nigra was associated with increased Ascomycota diversity, whereas Q. rubra supported a higher prevalence of Basidiomycota. Basidiomycota were negatively correlated with carbon and pH, while Ascomycota showed positive correlations with these variables. These findings highlight how crucial it is to understand how different tree species influence fungal communities and, consequently, how they influence forest soil health. Our findings serve to improve forest management practices by emphasizing the importance of fungal communities in maintaining the function and resilience of an ecosystem. Our study underscores that grasping these specific interactions is essential for effective forest management, especially when considering how to use fungal communities to boost plant growth. This work focuses on hardwood plantations rather than either agricultural ecosystems, monocultures, or native forests, thus filling a gap in the current literature where many studies are limited to specific fungal groups such as mycorrhizae. In future research, it is important to examine a wider range of tree species. This will deepen our understanding of fungal community dynamics and their impact on maintaining healthy forest ecosystems. Our hardwood plantation focus also notes the potential for adaptive forest management as environmental conditions change.