Studies on the relation of the diversity of wood-decaying fungi to elevation are scarce, and their results are not consistent.
We found that the elevation gradient and structural characteristics of a
Picea abies forest underlie changes in the species richness and composition of wood-decomposing fungi. The occurrence of macrofungal
sporocarps on logs on the ground was recorded over 3 years in 12 study plots (total area 2.4 ha) on a mountain slope (1,220–1,335 m)
in the Bohemian Forest, Czech Republic. The majority of species was more abundant in plots with a high mean volume of logs.
The mean volume of logs was negatively related to elevation, which in turn had a negative influence on the occurrence of fungi.
A negative relation of the high total volume of standing snags to the occurrence of fungi may be due to recent mortality caused
by a bark beetle outbreak, albeit followed by the input of fresh logs that favoured a limited group of species. The diversity
of fungi was also explained by the mean volumes of logs separated into decay classes. Numbers of red-listed species increased
with the mean volume of logs and decreased with elevation. Large logs in later stages of decay provide essential habitat for
the formation of sporocarps of red-listed species.
Keywords Altitude - Coarse woody debris -
Dacryomyces stillatus
-
Fomitopsis pinicola
- Norway spruce -
Phellinus nigrolimitatus
Communicated by R. Matyssek.