s SUMMARY Root disease fungi, particularly root rotting Basidiomycetes, are key drivers of forest ecosystems. These fungi have co-evolved with their hosts in various forest ecosystems and are in various states of equilibrium with them. Management activities and various land uses have taken place in recent times that have dramatically altered edaphic and environmental conditions under which fore...

During a survey of ophiostomatoid fungi in native forests of southern Argentina, several isolates of Huntiella species were obtained from Nothofagus trees. Sequences of multiple gene regions were used to identify these fungi, and their pathogenicity was tested on N. pumilio and N. dombeyi. Phylogenetic analyses revealed a novel taxon described here as H. decorticans sp. nov. Inoculations on N. ...

Both active and passive forest restoration schemes are used in degraded landscapes across the world to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem service provision. Restoration is increasingly also being implemented in biodiversity offset schemes as compensation for loss of natural habitat to anthropogenic development. This has raised concerns about the value of replacing old-growth forest with plantat...

Streptomyces sp. Sge12 was isolated from forest soil and exhibited remarkable antimicrobial activities against selected fungi and Gram-positive bacteria. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of this strain, which contains 37 putative secondary metabolite gene clusters.

New Zealand produces large diameter radiata pine (Pinus radiata) in short rotations, making it the dominant species used in its forest products industry. As with other fast growing pine species, radiata pine produces wood that consists primarily of sapwood, and is susceptible to dark discolorations due to sapstaining fungi. As a result, significant losses are incurred by the New Zealand forest ...

Soil is well known to support the transient or ongoing existence of kerathophilic fungi and potential sources of infection for humans and animals. Fifty soil samples were collected from various areas of forests and farmyards at Golestan Province in the north part of Iran to determine the prevalence of keratinophilic fungi and dominant species. A total of 357 fungal colonies including 13 genera ...

Fungus-subsidized growth through the seedling stage is the most critical feature of the life history for the thousands of mycorrhizal plant species that propagate by means of 'dust seeds.' We investigated the extent of specificity towards fungi shown by orchids in the genera Cephalanthera and Epipactis at three stages of their life cycle: (i) initiation of germination, (ii) during seedling deve...

Soil microbial communities can form links between forest trees and functioning of forest soils, yet the impacts of converting diverse native forests to monoculture plantations on soil microbial communities are limited. This study tested the hypothesis that conversion from a diverse native to monoculture ecosystem would be paralleled by a reduction in the diversity of the soil microbial communit...