In: Sydowia 77, (2025): 93-109; ISSN 0082-0598, DOI 10.12905/0380.sydowia77-2025-0093, Published online on August 5, 2024

Trunk characteristics of silver fir (Abies alba) drive macrofungal species richness and community composition in a mixed temperate old-growth forest

Vladimír Kunca* & Marek Ciliak

1 Technical University in Zvolen, Faculty of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Department of Applied Ecology, T.G.
Masaryka 24, SK-960 01 Zvolen, Slovakia
* e-mail: kunca@tuzvo.sk

Kunca V. & Ciliak M. (2025) Trunk characteristics of silver fir (Abies alba) drive macrofungal species richness and community
composition in a mixed temperate old-growth forest. – Sydowia 77: 93–109.

The structure and diversity of fungal communities on decaying wood remains largely unstudied, particularly in relation to
silver fir (Abies alba). Over period of six years, 42 fir trunks with different parameters were monitored in a well-preserved remnant
of natural forest. A total of 114 species based on fruiting bodies presence were recorded during the monitoring period, with
an average of 16.45 species per trunk (standard deviation = 8.84). The number of species present on individual trunks ranged from
two to 36. The frequency and richness of fungal species were found to be strongly influenced by a number of factors, including
trunk diameter, moss cover, soil contact and number of trunk fragments. In general, the number of species observed increased
gradually with decay stage, and species richness was higher for trunks over 50 cm in diameter. A total of 44 % of the species were
found on only one trunk (singletons) or two trunks (doubletons). The most abundant functional group was fleshy saprotrophs. The
spatial continuum of decaying wood units with a variety of niches, including non-barked wood, wood with fragmented or complete
bark cover, and moss patches, is crucial for maintaining the assemblages of wood-inhabiting fungi. The fungal species associated
with fir are threatened by a variety of environmental factors, many of which are also linked to the decline of Abies alba.

Keywords: fungal communities, coarse woody debris, Abies alba, ecology, Central Europe.