Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 25, 2026

Extraction and Analysis of Microbial Phospholipid Fatty Acids in Soils
Published on: August 26, 2016
Connectivity and Age of Restored Atlantic Forest Fragments Drives Composition and Functionality of the Fungal
Guilherme Lucio Martins1,2,3, Dina In 't Zandt3,4, Luis Fernando Merloti1,2,3
1Center for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture (CENA), University of São Paulo (USP), Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil.
Abstract:
The restoration of biodiversity and functional tropical forests is critical to mitigating global biodiversity losses. Aboveground, increasing the connectivity of regenerating forest fragments facilitates the recolonization of tropical forest biodiversity. However, restoring functional ecosystems also requires the recovery of decomposition processes as these are essential in shaping aboveground biodiversity. Therefore, we investigate the role of forest connectivity in restoring the composition and functioning of fungal communities in the leaf litter layer during a chronosequence of forest restoration. In the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, we studied secondary forests regrown between 18 and 55 years after deforestation and different levels of forest connectivity and compared their litter to recently abandoned pastures and undisturbed primary forests. We quantified how forest age and connectivity between fragments influenced the litter fungi composition in relation to tree diversity, litter chemistry and litter isotopes. We show that fungal composition was highly heterogeneous in forest litter, whereas pasture litter exhibited a more homogeneous community. Moreover, forest connectivity had stronger effects on litter fungal composition compared to forest age. Connectivity promoted wood saprotrophs and endophytes, while suppressing soil saprotrophs, with its effects being more evident during later stages of restoration. Fungal guilds such as endophytes and saprophytes were primarily influenced by tree diversity and leaf litter chemistry. We conclude that forest connectivity promotes the re-establishment of saprophytic fungi capable of decomposing recalcitrant litter substrates, driven mainly by enhancing tree diversity and litter quality. Practical implications of increasing connectivity may relate to forest resilience in front of future climate change scenarios.
More Related Videos
07:00Microbiota of Attine Ants' Gardens: Visualizing a Microbial Landscape by Scanning Electron Microscopy
Published on: October 4, 2024
12:05A Workflow for the Quantitative Assessment of the Endophytic and Epiphytic Bacterial Microbiomes of the Bark of Populus trichocarpa
Published on: June 27, 2025
Related Concept Videos
Soil Microbial Ecology
Fungal Group Zygomycota
Ecological Succession
The Roles of Bacteria and Fungi in Plant Nutrition
Methods to Assess Microbial Communities
Fungal Phylum Basidiomycota