The role of soil chemistry and plant neighborhoods in structuring fungal communities in three Panamanian rainforests. soil metagenome

The goal of this project was to determine the relative roles of abiotic and biotic factors in driving fungal richness and community composition in tropical forests. We measured soil properties and collected soil at 75 locations across 3 1-ha forest plots in central Panama, and sequenced the ITS1 region from soil samples to determine fungal species richness and composition at each location. We also calculated local tree species richness and composition within 10-m radii around each soil collection location. We tested for correlations between fungal composition, soil properties and tree community composition, in addition to correlations between fungal richness and individual soil properties. Our results contribute to the understanding of the tripartite relationship between soil, fungi and tree communities in tropical forests.