Ms Ema Corro1, Ms Emily McIntyre1
1Mycommunity Applied Mycology, Maddingley, Australia, 2University of New England, Armidale, Australia, 3Melbourne University, Melbourne, Australia
Biography:
Ema Corro is a founding member and coordinator of Mycommunity Applied Mycology. Her main area of interest is fungal ecology and how it relates to land management and has contributed to the Fungi for Land project. She is currently studying a Master of Environmental Science and Management at UNE looking at using fungivorous animal scats to promote mycorrhizal fungi and plant-health in revegetation areas. She is coordinator of the Wild Fungi DNA project which aims to involve citizen-scientists using molecular methods to study fungi.
Emily McIntyre is a graduate of a Masters of Ecosystem Management and Conservation, where her thesis explored the effect of biotic and environmental variables on soil fungi across an elevational gradient. She is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Melbourne, where she is studying the diversity and ecology of hypogeous fungi in south-eastern Australia. Her research explores the distribution and diversity of these fungi and their mutualistic relationship with the endangered Long-Footed Potoroo. She is also currently undertaking research through MYCOmmunity's Wild Fungi DNA Project to examine the effect of storm damage on soil fungi within Wombat Forest. Emily is most interested in learning about the interactions that fungi have with plants, animals, and abiotic factors, to better understand how ecosystems function.
Abstract:
Soil fungi are essential in forest ecosystems, acting as saprotrophs, pathogens, and symbionts to trees. With the increasing frequency and intensity of severe weather events due to climate change, it is critical to understand their impacts on the soil fungal community. This ongoing study, organised and delivered entirely by citizen scientists, is the first in Australia to investigate the response of soil fungi to storm-induced forest damage. The study aims to address the lack of information on how extreme weather events impact soil fungal communities, which are vital for forest health. The Wombat State Forest in Victoria, a dry temperate eucalypt forest, was severely disturbed by extreme winds in 2021 which caused widespread uprooting and snapping of trees. Soil samples were collected annually post-storm from 12 plots (four each from undamaged, moderately damaged, and severely damaged plots). DNA was extracted from the soil samples, amplified using ITS1/ITS2 primers, and sequenced with Illumina sequencing. Preliminary results from the first two years of sampling indicate that the relative abundance of symbiotrophs decreased with increasing disturbance severity, while the relative abundance of saprotrophs increased. The total soil fungal community was significantly varied depending on the level of disturbance and differed between the two years of sampling. These findings highlight the impact of severe storms on soil fungal communities and the importance of monitoring and improving management of these forests in the face of increasing frequency of severe weather events.