Plant succession is among the fundamental concepts in ecology. Studies addressing plant recruitment, successional mechanisms, and the role of root-colonizing fungi with focus on dark-septate endophytes (DSE) were
conducted in the laboratory and on the forefront of receding Lyman Glacier (North Cascade Range, Washington, U.S.A.). Primary successional studies primarily focus...
Retreating glaciers and the periglacial areas they vacate for organismal colonization produce a harsh environment of extreme radiation, nutrient limitations, and temperature oscillations. They provide a model system for studying mechanisms that drive establishment and early assembly of communities. Here, we synthesize more than twenty years of research at the...
A new functional gene database, FOAM (Functional Ontology Assignments for Metagenomes), was developed to screen environmental metagenomic sequence datasets. FOAM provides a new functional ontology dedicated to classify gene functions relevant to environmental microorganisms based on Hidden Markov Models (HMMs). Sets of aligned protein sequences (i.e. ‘profiles’) were tailored to...
Mat-forming ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungi represent a prevalent constituent of many temperate forest ecosystems and create dramatic changes in soil structure and chemistry. EcM mat soil have been shown to have increased microbial respiration rates and have been hypothesized to harbor unique assemblages of fungi and bacteria. The objectives of this...
Post-fire Pezizales often fruit seasonally approximately six weeks after a fire in successional groups over the course of two years. Two methods, pure culture synthesis and PCR-based identification, were used to determine if some of these species were mycorrhizal. Eleven fungal isolates, Anthracobia melaloma, Gyromitra infula, Helvella compressa, Morchella sp.,...
Over the course of the last century, a successful history of fire suppression has contributed to unsuccessful present day control over wildfire. In the absence of fire and the janitorial and ecological services it provides, drier inland forests are shifting in species composition and exceeding densities that cannot survive and...
Ectomycorrhizal fungi (EmF) form symbioses with trees. These symbioses profoundly influence forest ecology. Certain EmF form specialized profusions of hyphae, known as ectomycorrhizal fungal mats (mats) which are visible to the naked eye, alter forest soil biogeochemistry, substantially contribute to soil microbial biomass/respiration and support unique microbial communities. Piloderma and...
Rhizopogon is a hypogeous fungal genus that forms ectomycorrhizae
with genera of the Pinaceae. The greatest number and species of
Rhizopogon are found in coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwestern
United States, where members of the Pinaceae are also concentrated.
Rhizopogon spp. are host-specific primarily with Pinus spp. and
Pseudotsuga...
Craterellus tubaeformis is a small to medium-sized forest mushroom that is fairly common in the Douglas-fir/western hemlock forests of the Pacific Northwestern United States and is most often associated with decayed coarse woody debris. In this study, the mycorrhizae of Craterellus tubaeformis in western Oregon is identified by DNA analysis...
