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  • Litter Decomposition in Pacific Northwest Prairies Depends on Fire, with Differential Responses of Saprotrophic and Pyrophilous Fungi
Title: Litter Decomposition in Pacific Northwest Prairies Depends on Fire, with Differential Responses of Saprotrophic and Pyrophilous Fungi
Fungi contribute to ecosystem function through nutrient cycling and decomposition but may be affected by major disturbances such as fire. Some ecosystems are fire-adapted, such as prairies which require cyclical burning to mitigate woody plant encroachment and reduce litter. While fire suppresses fire-sensitive fungi, pyrophilous fungi may continue providing ecosystem functions. Using litter bags, we measured the litter decomposition at three prairies with unburned and burned sections, and we used Illumina sequencing to examine litter communities. We hypothesized that (H1) decomposition would be higher at unburned sites than burned, (H2) increased decomposition at unburned sites would be correlated with higher overall saprotroph diversity, with a lower diversity in autoclaved samples, and (H3) pyrophilous fungal diversity would be higher at burned sites and overall higher in autoclaved samples. H1 was not supported; decomposition was unaffected by burn treatments. H2 and H3 were somewhat supported; saprotroph diversity was lowest in autoclaved litter at burned sites, but pyrophilous fungal diversity was the highest. Pyrophilous fungal diversity significantly contributed to litter decomposition rates, while saprotroph diversity did not. Our findings indicate that fire-adapted prairies host a suite of pyrophilous saprotrophic fungi, and that these fungi play a primary role in litter decomposition post-fire when other fire-sensitive fungal saprotrophs are less abundant.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2106130
PAR ID:
10657034
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
MDPI
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Microorganisms
Volume:
13
Issue:
8
ISSN:
2076-2607
Page Range / eLocation ID:
1834
Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
decomposition fire fungi grasslands litter bags prairie pyrophilous saprotrophic
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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