Rise in air temperature accompanied by snow-melting in early spring may affect fungi colonising litter needles. This study dealt with the diversity of communities of culturable microfungi colonising Scots pine litter at localities still covered by snow and after snowmelt. Surface-sterilised needles were cultivated on malt agar under two temperature regimes (8/9 and 15/16 °C) and outgrowing fungi were isolated into pure cultures and identified based on morphology and analysis of ITS and partial 28S rDNA regions. Thirty-one fungal species were isolated in total. Dominant colonisers with a colonisation frequency of over 10 % included Verticicladium trifidum, Ceuthospora pinastri, Sympodiella acicola and an unidentified member of Helotiales. Two basidiomycetes, Marasmius androsaceus and Mycena galopus, were also isolated relatively frequently from needles with snow cover, but under different temperature regimes. This preference for different temperatures reflects different niches that these species occupy in coniferous litter. Species richness was significantly higher on needles cultivated at lower temperatures. Widespread use of room temperature for cultivation of samples even from cold seasons may underestimate fungal diversity.
Koukol O. (2011): Early spring mycobiota of pine litter needles. – Czech Mycology 63(2): 153–161.
