Browsing by Subject "Wood decay"

The biodegradation of wood by fungi in natural forest environment is of vital importance for carbon and nutrient replenishment. Additionally, the ecological functions, maintenance of biodiversity and fungal succession in forest ecosystems is partly dependent on the availability of utilizable organic substances. The fungal group of basidiomycetes are known to play important functional roles in these processes. There is however scarcity of information on how co-cultures of multiple fungi affect wood biomass decomposition as well as the consequent effect of interspecific interaction on niche colonization and substrate utilization. This study investigated and evaluated the role and efficiency of interspecific fungal interaction on biodegradation of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L), Norway spruce (Picea abies L. (H) Karst) and birch (Betula pubescens Ehrh) wood. Five fungal isolates were selected for the test in co-cultivation assay: Antrodia sinuosa P. Karst, Bjerkandera adusta (Willd.) P. Karst, Gloeophyllum sepiarium (Wulfen) P. Karst, Heterobasidion annosum (Fr.) Bref, and Phlebiopsis gigantea Jülich (Basidiomycota). The results revealed that antagonistic and competitive fungal interaction does not largely appear to speed up wood decay process. However, the rare combination of Phlebiopsis, Antrodia and Gloeophyllum had significant positive effect on degradation of spruce wood whereas Heterobasidion, Phlebiopsis, and Gloeophyllum had synergistic effect on pine wood decay. It is therefore likely that in nature, wood decay by fungi is mostly facilitated by parallel niche colonization and by fungal succession.