EMF Consistency in Pine Cedar Post Fire stand

The mutualistic interaction between trees and ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) can significantly impact forest dynamics, particularly seedling establishment. We compared the EMF community composition associated with the roots of young saplings and mature trees of two cohabiting Pinaceae: Pinus halepensis and Cedrus deodara in a post-fire forest plot, using fungal ITS metabarcoding. We observed that differences between the sapling groups were mostly due to changes in the relative abundance of specific fungal species, with minimal species turnover. Specifically, Tomentella was highly abundant on pine roots, while Tuber, Russula, and Sebacina were more prevalent on cedar roots. The physical proximity to a specific host species influenced the EMF community composition of young saplings. For instance, saplings growing next to mature cedars had a higher abundance of Tuber species, while Tomentella coerulea, Russula densifolia, and Tuber nitidum dominated saplings next to mature pines. The shoot structure of cedar saplings correlated with specific EMF species. These findings suggest that the EMF community of saplings germinating next to mature trees can be shaped by extrinsic factors like the distribution of mature trees in the forest.