ITS sequencing

Assessing forest soil fungal biodiversity following land-use change events using ITS helps researchers to fully understand their complex systems. Based on the critical roles of fungi within mountain forest ecosystems, determining the diversity of fungal community establishment, structure, abundance and diversity status will contribute to forest management objectives. Considering the interconnected impacts on fungal diversity, productivity, nutrient and carbon cycling resulting from land-use changes in native forests (Song et al., 2019; Fang et al., 2023), the reduction of forest cover in the High Country region is anticipated to diminish soil fungal diversity and alter community composition. These changes are likely to disrupt ecosystem stability and function. Increased land-use change across Appalachia is expected to further decrease fungal biodiversity (M. C. Hansen et al., 2013), potentially compromising the integrity of the entire High Country ecosystem. This study aims to comprehensively elucidate the drivers and consequences of fungal community decline, while also planting seeds for exploring potential strategies for conservation and restoration.