Can you find fungi on your campus?

            What is the likelihood that you would stumble across a mushroom on your daily walk through the quad? Well, ectomycorrhizal fungi (ECM) have been used to answer this question. For reference, ECM fungi are organisms that form mutualistic relationships with various tree species, as they are essential for nutrient and carbon cycling within forest ecosystems (Anderson and Cairney, 2007).  Urban environments are constantly subjected to disturbances, and ECM fungi are highly sensitive to disturbances (Hiu et al., 2017). The study of ECM fungi within an urban environment is crucial for us to understand if disturbances affect species richness, diversity, or distribution; therefore, the study of ECM fungi response to disturbance in an urban environment allows us to determine if disturbances affect ECM fungi distribution.

Russula nobilis, an example of an ectomycorrhizal fungi found under beech trees.

Researchers Hui et al. conducted a study that compared distribution differences of ECM fungi across boreal forest environments and urban green spaces; they analyzed how ECM fungi and host - tree interactions affected species distribution. They compared how ECM fungal communities were affected by different plant species interactions, conifer and broadleaf trees, park age, and environment, control forests or urban parks. ECM fungi were sampled from 41 urban parks in southern Finland, and 5 control forests in Lahti; moreover, fungi were sampled using a DNA extraction method, and fungi DNA were analyzed using the Fragment Analyzer (Advanced Analytical, USA). Their data suggested that the species richness in urban parks was similar to their sampled control forests, but that ECM communities differed between conifer and broadleaf trees. In fact, they found that ECM communities changed over time under conifers, but ECM communities under broadleaves did not. This led them to conclude that the tree species – fungal interaction determines ECM distribution rather than disturbances (Hiu et al., 2017).

We have conducted a similar ecological study, but we analyzed saprophytic and mycorrhizal fungi distribution on Grinnell College’s campus (Grinnell, Iowa). Our study maps fruiting bodies to identify where Grinnell’s fungi are located. In our study, we analyze the distribution of all fruiting bodies; however, Hiu et al.’s results indicate that ECM distribution in urban environments is affected by tree species – fungal interactions (Hiu et al., 2017); these results can aid us in understanding the ECM fungi distribution on Grinnell’s campus. We can use the results of Hiu et al. to create a hypothesis, do different tree species of Grinnell’s campus exhibit different ECM fungal communities?  If we can support our hypothesis, then we can conclude that Grinnell College’s ECM fungi distribution is not affected by disturbances, but the distribution is affected by tree species – fungal interactions; however, it is possible that we can not support our hypothesis, as disturbance may play a role in Grinnell’s ECM fungi distribution.

An unidentified fungus of the genus Scleroderma, an ECM fungi, found on Grinnell’s campus.

References:

·         Anderson, I. C., Cairney, J. W. G. (2007). Ectomycorrhizal fungi: exploring the mycelial frontier. FEMS Microbiology Reviews, 31, 388-406.

·         Hui, N., Liu, Z., Kotze, J., Jumpponen, A., Francini, G., Setala, H. (2017). Ectomycorrhizal Fungal Communities in Urban Parks Are Similar to Those in Natural Forests but Shaped by Vegetation and Park Age. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 83, 1-12.

·         Kuo, M. (2011, July). The Genus Scleroderma. Retrieved from https://www.mushroomexpert.com/scleroderma.html 26 October, 2019

·         Nature, F. (2019). Russula nobilis Velen. - Beechwood Sickener. Retrieved from https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/russula-nobilis.php 17 October, 2019