Nitrogen deposition and temperature structure fungal communities associated with alpine moss-sedge heath in the UK

Andy F.S. Taylor; Thomas E. Freitag; Lucinda Robinson; Duncan White; Peter Hedley; Andrea J. Britton

doi:10.1016/j.funeco.2022.101191

Nitrogen deposition and temperature structure fungal communities associated with alpine moss-sedge heath in the UK

Andy F.S. Taylor^* (Corresponding Author), Thomas E. Freitag, Lucinda Robinson, Duncan White, Peter Hedley, Andrea J. Britton

^*Corresponding author for this work

Aberdeen Centre For Environmental Sustainability

The James Hutton Institute

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Moss-sedge heath, an important habitat of oceanic alpine regions, is under threat from elevated nitrogen (N) deposition and rising temperatures increasing decomposition rates and fragmentation of the extensive, thick moss mats of Racomitrium lanuginosum which characterise this habitat. Here, we examine the potential effects of N deposition and temperature on fungal communities associated with R. lanuginosum mats. Fungal community composition in both green moss shoots and underlying soil were significantly influenced by mat temperatures and green moss shoot N contents. Total OTU, Ascomycota, Basidiomycota and saprotrophic fungal richness in shoots were all positively related to temperature, while in soil, the richness of all groups, except Basidiomycota, was positively related to moss tissue N. The observed community changes suggest that increased N loading and increasing temperatures are ameliorating growing conditions for fungi associated with moss-sedge heath. Further study is required to determine if the observed changes in fungal communities contribute to accelerated decomposition of moss mats and degradation of the habitat.

Original language	English
Article number	101191
Number of pages	12
Journal	Fungal Ecology
Volume	60
Early online date	14 Sept 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.funeco.2022.101191
Publication status	Published - Dec 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We are very grateful to Ruth Mitchell, Dave Riach, Julia Fisher and Hannah Urpeth for their help with fieldwork. Helaina Black is thanked for helpful discussion during the design of the project. Numerous conservation agency staff and landowners gave permission to carry out work on their land, without which this study would not have been possible. The study was financially supported by the Scottish Government Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS).

Keywords

Bryophytes
Bryosphere
Decomposition
Fungal community composition
Nitrogen deposition
Racomitrium heath
Soil biodiversity
Soil fungi
Temperature

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Cite this

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title = "Nitrogen deposition and temperature structure fungal communities associated with alpine moss-sedge heath in the UK",

abstract = "Moss-sedge heath, an important habitat of oceanic alpine regions, is under threat from elevated nitrogen (N) deposition and rising temperatures increasing decomposition rates and fragmentation of the extensive, thick moss mats of Racomitrium lanuginosum which characterise this habitat. Here, we examine the potential effects of N deposition and temperature on fungal communities associated with R. lanuginosum mats. Fungal community composition in both green moss shoots and underlying soil were significantly influenced by mat temperatures and green moss shoot N contents. Total OTU, Ascomycota, Basidiomycota and saprotrophic fungal richness in shoots were all positively related to temperature, while in soil, the richness of all groups, except Basidiomycota, was positively related to moss tissue N. The observed community changes suggest that increased N loading and increasing temperatures are ameliorating growing conditions for fungi associated with moss-sedge heath. Further study is required to determine if the observed changes in fungal communities contribute to accelerated decomposition of moss mats and degradation of the habitat.",

keywords = "Bryophytes, Bryosphere, Decomposition, Fungal community composition, Nitrogen deposition, Racomitrium heath, Soil biodiversity, Soil fungi, Temperature",

author = "Taylor, {Andy F.S.} and Freitag, {Thomas E.} and Lucinda Robinson and Duncan White and Peter Hedley and Britton, {Andrea J.}",

note = "Funding Information: We are very grateful to Ruth Mitchell, Dave Riach, Julia Fisher and Hannah Urpeth for their help with fieldwork. Helaina Black is thanked for helpful discussion during the design of the project. Numerous conservation agency staff and landowners gave permission to carry out work on their land, without which this study would not have been possible. The study was financially supported by the Scottish Government Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS). ",

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AU - Hedley, Peter

AU - Britton, Andrea J.

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N2 - Moss-sedge heath, an important habitat of oceanic alpine regions, is under threat from elevated nitrogen (N) deposition and rising temperatures increasing decomposition rates and fragmentation of the extensive, thick moss mats of Racomitrium lanuginosum which characterise this habitat. Here, we examine the potential effects of N deposition and temperature on fungal communities associated with R. lanuginosum mats. Fungal community composition in both green moss shoots and underlying soil were significantly influenced by mat temperatures and green moss shoot N contents. Total OTU, Ascomycota, Basidiomycota and saprotrophic fungal richness in shoots were all positively related to temperature, while in soil, the richness of all groups, except Basidiomycota, was positively related to moss tissue N. The observed community changes suggest that increased N loading and increasing temperatures are ameliorating growing conditions for fungi associated with moss-sedge heath. Further study is required to determine if the observed changes in fungal communities contribute to accelerated decomposition of moss mats and degradation of the habitat.

AB - Moss-sedge heath, an important habitat of oceanic alpine regions, is under threat from elevated nitrogen (N) deposition and rising temperatures increasing decomposition rates and fragmentation of the extensive, thick moss mats of Racomitrium lanuginosum which characterise this habitat. Here, we examine the potential effects of N deposition and temperature on fungal communities associated with R. lanuginosum mats. Fungal community composition in both green moss shoots and underlying soil were significantly influenced by mat temperatures and green moss shoot N contents. Total OTU, Ascomycota, Basidiomycota and saprotrophic fungal richness in shoots were all positively related to temperature, while in soil, the richness of all groups, except Basidiomycota, was positively related to moss tissue N. The observed community changes suggest that increased N loading and increasing temperatures are ameliorating growing conditions for fungi associated with moss-sedge heath. Further study is required to determine if the observed changes in fungal communities contribute to accelerated decomposition of moss mats and degradation of the habitat.

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KW - Soil fungi

KW - Temperature

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Nitrogen deposition and temperature structure fungal communities associated with alpine moss-sedge heath in the UK

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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