Germination experiment of Lycopodiaceae in the Hochfeld reserve

To better understand the ecological dynamic of Lycopodiaceae in temperate communities, we conducted a germination experiment of lycopod spores following an anthropogenic disturbance and examined their associated fungi. We characterized the fungal communities associated with lycopod gametophytes by metabarcoding of the 18S rRNA gene and the ITS2 region. We collected 4 different types of samples: spores, lycopod gametophytes, the roots of lycopod sporophytes, and the roots of surrounding herbaceous plants.