artículo científico
Assemblages of myxomycetes associated with three different substrates affected by forest wildfires
Fecha
2021-03-23Registro en:
2032-3921
10.5091/plecevo.2021.1762
731-B7-721
Autor
Stephenson, Steven L.
Payal, Nazrana
Kaur, Gurpreet
Rojas Alvarado, Carlos Alonso
Institución
Resumen
Background and aims – In late November and early December of 2016, forest wildfires occurred over
portions of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (USA) and more than 4 000 ha were affected.
Previous studies have shown that myxomycete assemblages can be greatly impacted as a result of this
type of disturbance; after which, the recovery of the forest determines the availability of substrates for
new colonisation. The objective of the project reported herein was to assess the impact of wildfires on the
recovery of the assemblages of myxomycetes associated with three different substrates (forest floor leaf
litter, the bark of living trees, and woody twigs) in two areas with different fire intensity.
Material and methods – Two study areas subjected to different fire intensity were selected and sampled
30 months after the wildfires. Myxomycetes were studied using the moist chamber culture technique as it
applies to these organisms. Satellite imagery was used to determine forest recovery and similarity indices
were used to compare experimental myxomycete assemblages among study areas and substrates. Historical
data were used as a reference to contextualise the results.
Key results – A total of 38 species of myxomycetes representing 17 different genera were recorded
from the two study areas. Samples from the lower intensity burn area yielded more myxomycetes than
samples from the higher intensity burn area, with values of 84% and 59%, respectively. This same pattern
was also observed for the number of recorded specimens (133 and 93, respectively). The comparison of
experimental assemblages with previous data suggested that ground litter assemblages were still in early
stages of recovery, whereas the assemblages associated with bark and twigs had recovered much faster.
Conclusion – The relatively higher intensity fire had more of an effect on myxomycetes than the relatively
lower intensity fire. Myxomycete assemblages are resilient to wildfires and they recover differentially
depending on the substrate they grow on.