ITS1 of wildfire affected Pinus ponderosa

Relevance: Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) is an obligate ectomycorrhizal host, which is adapted to low severity wildfires. However, P. Pondera forests are increasingly experiencing high-severity, stand-replacing fires. Ectomycorrhizal fungi are required for nutrient acquisition, and natural plant regeneration, but it is unknown whether the symbiotic organisms, which evolved under the same fire regime as P. ponderosa, are undergoing the long-lasting, high mortality rates experienced by P. ponderosa under the altered fire regime. If this is the case, it could have negative implications on the natural regeneration of the system, potentially requiring manual restoration. Goals: The goals of this study were to use a chronosequence study of 11 years of post-fire history, based on four different fires that burned between 2006 and 2015, to understand the effect of high-severity wildfires on 1) the soil nutrients 2) ectomycorrhizal and saprobic species richness 3) ectomycorrhizal and saprobic fungal communities 4) the ecological drivers of richness and composition and to determine 5) whether 11 years of post-fire period is sufficient time for the species richness to converse to comparable unburned level.