Diversity of Ectomycorrhizal Fungi in Young Pedunculate Oak Stand from Morovic, Serbia

Although oaks belong to the economically most important hardwood tree species in Europe, data on the diversity of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi on pedunculate oak in the Republic of Serbia are deficient. The aim of our study was to give the first insight into the diversity of ECM fungi in the young stand of pedunculate oak in Morović, Serbia. The combination of morpho-anatomical characterization and molecular analysis was used for determination of ECM fungi on penduculate oak. Studied parameters included: (i) counting of vital ECM root tips, (ii) calculation of diversity indices and (iii) classification of morphotypes of ectomycorrhizae into the exploration types. Eighteen ECM fungal taxa were recorded in the studied young pedunculate oak stand. Seven of them were identified to the level of species, eight fungi to the genus, two to the family level, and one ECM fungus remained unidentified. ECM communities consisted of a small number of abundant taxa and a bigger number of rare taxa. The most abundant ECM fungi were Entoloma sp., Thelephoraceae sp., Russula cf. odorata and Russula lilacea, which made association with the majority of ECM root tips. Short-distance exploration type (ET) dominated, followed by medium-distance smooth ET and contact ET, while long-distance ET and medium-distance fringe ET were rare at the Morovic site. Values of diversity indices obtained in the studied pedunculate oak stand were comparable to the ones recorded in different oak stands over Europe. In order to get a deeper insight into the diversity of ECM fungi on pedunculate oak there is a need to continue research on increased number of sites and also to include seasonal dynamics.