Fungi contribute to ecosystem function through nutrient cycling and decomposition but may be affected by major disturbances such as fire. Some ecosystems are fire-adapted, such as prairies which require cyclical burning to mitigate woody plant encroachment and reduce litter. While fire suppresses fire-sensitive fungi, pyrophilous fungi may continue providing ecosystem functions. Using litter bags, we measured the litter decomposition at three prairies with unburned and burned sections, and we used Illumina sequencing to examine litter communities. We hypothesized that (H1) decomposition would be higher at unburned sites than burned, (H2) increased decomposition at unburned sites would be correlated with higher overall saprotroph diversity, with a lower diversity in autoclaved samples, and (H3) pyrophilous fungal diversity would be higher at burned sites and overall higher in autoclaved samples. H1 was not supported; decomposition was unaffected by burn treatments. H2 and H3 were somewhat supported; saprotroph diversity was lowest in autoclaved litter at burned sites, but pyrophilous fungal diversity was the highest. Pyrophilous fungal diversity significantly contributed to litter decomposition rates, while saprotroph diversity did not. Our findings indicate that fire-adapted prairies host a suite of pyrophilous saprotrophic fungi, and that these fungi play a primary role in litter decomposition post-fire when other fire-sensitive fungal saprotrophs are less abundant.

The Ordway-Swisher Biological Station (OSBS) is a 38-km2 reserve owned by the University of Florida and is part of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). The reserve contains several iconic Florida habitats, such as sandhill, mesic hammock, and scrubby flatwoods. While plants and animals have been extensively studied at OSBS, the fungi remain poorly known. Fungal inventories are critical to increase knowledge of both fungal diversity and species ranges, and thus to provide foundational data for a wide array of applications in ecology and resource management. Here, we present the results of a nine-year effort to collect, preserve, and DNA barcode the macrofungi at OSBS. This effort generated >1200 vouchered specimens and 984 ITS rDNA sequences, representing more than 546 species. Our sampling was dominated by Basidiomycota and revealed a high diversity of symbiotic ectomycorrhizal fungi, particularly species of Amanita, Cortinarius, and Russula. Sampling curves and both Chao1 and Jacknife1 richness estimators suggest that our DNA barcoding efforts captured only about half of the macrofungi species and that a more complete inventory would detect 897-1177 macrofungi species at OSBS. Our sampling found more species of macrofungi at OSBS than the known number of vertebrate animal species at the reserve and our estimates also suggest that there are likely more macrofungi species than plant species at OSBS. This study is the first comprehensive macrofungi inventory within a NEON site and highlights the importance of long-term monitoring to provide novel data on fungal diversity, community structure, conservation, biogeography, and taxonomy.

Premise: Understanding how population dynamics vary in space and time is critical for understanding the basic life history and conservation needs of a species, especially for narrow endemic species whose populations are often in similar environments and therefore at increased risk of extinction under climate change. Here, we investigated the spatial and temporal variation in population dynamics of Ranunculus austro-oreganus, a perennial buttercup endemic to fragmented prairie habitat in one county in southern Oregon. Methods: We performed demographic surveys of three populations of R. austro-oreganus over 4 years (2015-2018). We used size-structured population models and life table response experiments to investigate vital rates driving spatiotemporal variation in population growth. Results: Overall, R. austro-oreganus had positive or stable stochastic population growth rates, though individual vital rates and overall population growth varied substantially among sites and years. All populations had their greatest growth in the same year, suggesting potential synchrony associated with climate conditions. Differences in survival contributed most to spatial variation in population growth, while differences in reproduction contributed most to temporal variation in population growth. Conclusions: Populations of this extremely narrow endemic appear stable, with positive growth during our study window. These results suggest that populations of R. austro-oreganus are able to persist if their habitat is not eliminated by land-use change. Nonetheless, its narrow distribution and synchronous population dynamics suggest the need for continued monitoring, particularly with ongoing habitat loss and climate change.

Ecological restoration often relies on disturbance as a tool for establishing target plant communities, but disturbance can be a double‐edged sword, at times initiating invasion and unintended outcomes. Here we test how fire disturbance, designed to enhance restoration seeding success, combines with climate and initial vegetation conditions to shift perennial versus annual grass dominance and overall community diversity in Pacific Northwest grasslands. We seeded both native and introduced perennial grasses and native forbs in paired, replicated burned‐unburned plots in three sites along a latitudinal climate gradient from southern Oregon to central‐western Washington. Past restoration and climate manipulations at each site had increased the variation of starting conditions between plots. Burning promoted the expansion of extant forbs and perennial grasses across all sites. Burning also enhanced the seeding success of native perennial grass and native forbs at the northern and central site, and the success of introduced perennial grasses across all three sites. Annual grass dominance was driven more by latitude than burning, with annuals maintaining their dominance in the south and perennials in the north. At the same time, unrestored grasslands surrounding all sites remained dominated by perennial grasses, suggesting that initial plot clearing may have allowed for annual grass invasion in the southern site. When paired with disturbance, further warming may increase the risk of annual grass dominance, a potentially persistent state.

Danthonia californica is a native perennial bunchgrass commonly used in the restoration of prairie ecosystems in the western United States. Plants of this species simultaneously produce both chasmogamous (potentially outcrossed) and cleistogamous (obligately self-fertilized) seeds. Restoration practitioners almost exclusively use chasmogamous seeds for outplanting, which are predicted to perform better in novel environments due to their greater genetic diversity. Meanwhile, cleistogamous seeds may exhibit greater local adaptation to the conditions in which the maternal plant exists. We performed a common garden experiment at two sites in the Willamette Valley, Oregon to assess the influence of seed type and source population (eight populations) on germination and found no evidence of local adaptation for either seed type. Cleistogamous seeds outperformed chasmogamous seeds regardless of whether seeds were sourced directly from the common gardens (local seeds), or other populations (nonlocal seeds). Furthermore, average seed weight had a strong positive effect on germination success, despite the fact that chasmogamous seeds had significantly greater mass than cleistogamous seeds. At one common garden we observed that seeds of both types sourced from north of our planting site performed significantly better than local or southern-sourced seeds. We also found a significant seed type and distance-dependent interaction, with cleistogamous germination peaking approximately 125km from the garden, which may be explained by differences in the pathogen content of cleistogamous and chasmogamous seeds. These results suggest that cleistogamous seeds should be considered for greater use in D. californica restoration.

Prairies were once extensive in the Pacific Northwest, but declined due to Euro-American settlement, agriculture, and fire exclusion. Remnant and restored prairies require frequent management to limit establishment of trees and invasive plants. We asked whether management practices affect sporocarps (“mushrooms”) by quantifying sporocarps in prairie restoration treatments, including fire. Management treatments significantly affected sporocarp production; there were more mushrooms in burned plots and fewer in carbon addition plots. Surveys of fire chronosequences (not burned for >150 years, burned in 2012, 2014 or 2015) revealed significant differences in sporocarp numbers depending on time since fire (more in unburned and in 2015 burns), whether the prairie was an upland or wetland (more in uplands), and when the census occurred. In these now rare habitats, we found over 400 species of macrofungi, some of which were uncommon to rare. These results can inform management to support fungal diversity in Pacific Northwest prairies.

Background Globally, many undescribed fungal taxa reside in the hyperdiverse, yet undersampled, tropics. These species are under increasing threat from habitat destruction by expanding extractive industry, in addition to global climate change and other threats. Reserva Los Cedros is a primary cloud forest reserve of ~ 5256 ha, and is among the last unlogged watersheds on the western slope of the Ecuadorian Andes. No major fungal survey has been done there, presenting an opportunity to document fungi in primary forest in an underrepresented habitat and location. Above-ground surveys from 2008 to 2019 resulted in 1760 vouchered collections, cataloged and deposited at QCNE in Ecuador, mostly Agaricales sensu lato and Xylariales. We document diversity using a combination of ITS barcode sequencing and digital photography, and share the information via public repositories (GenBank & iNaturalist). Results Preliminary identifications indicate the presence of at least 727 unique fungal species within the Reserve, representing 4 phyla, 17 classes, 40 orders, 101 families, and 229 genera. Two taxa at Los Cedros have recently been recommended to the IUCN Fungal Red List Initiative ( Thamnomyces chocöensis Læssøe and “ Lactocollybia” aurantiaca Singer), and we add occurrence data for two others already under consideration ( Hygrocybe aphylla Læssøe & Boertm. and Lamelloporus americanus Ryvarden). Conclusions Plants and animals are known to exhibit exceptionally high diversity and endemism in the Chocó bioregion, as the fungi do as well. Our collections contribute to understanding this important driver of biodiversity in the Neotropics, as well as illustrating the importance and utility of such data to conservation efforts. Resumen Antecedentes : A nivel mundial muchos taxones fúngicos no descritos residen en los trópicos hiper diversos aunque continúan submuestreados. Estas especies están cada vez más amenazadas por la destrucción del hábitat debido a la expansión de la industria extractivista además del cambio climático global y otras amenazas. Los Cedros es una reserva de bosque nublado primario de ~ 5256 ha y se encuentra entre las últimas cuencas hidrográficas no explotadas en la vertiente occidental de los Andes ecuatorianos. Nunca antes se ha realizado un estudio de diversidad micológica en el sitio, lo que significa una oportunidad para documentar hongos en el bosque primario, en hábitat y ubicación subrepresentatadas. El presente estudio recopila información entre el 2008 y 2019 muestreando material sobre todos los sustratos, reportando 1760 colecciones catalogadas y depositadas en el Fungario del QCNE de Ecuador, en su mayoría Agaricales sensu lato y Xylariales; además se documenta la diversidad mediante secuenciación de códigos de barras ITS y fotografía digital, la información está disponible en repositorios públicos digitales (GenBank e iNaturalist). Resultados: La identificación preliminar indica la presencia de al menos 727 especies únicas de hongos dentro de la Reserva, que representan 4 filos, 17 clases, 40 órdenes, 101 familias y 229 géneros. Recientemente dos taxones en Los Cedros se recomendaron a la Iniciativa de Lista Roja de Hongos de la UICN ( Thamnomyces chocöensis Læssøe y “Lactocollybia” aurantiaca Singer) y agregamos datos de presencia de otros dos que ya estaban bajo consideración ( Hygrocybe aphylla Læssøe & Boertm. y Lamelloporus americanus Ryvarden). Conclusiones: Se sabe que plantas y animales exhiben una diversidad y endemismo excepcionalmente altos en la bioregión del Chocó y los hongos no son la excepción. Nuestras colecciones contribuyen a comprender este importante promotor de la biodiversidad en el Neotrópico además de ilustrar la importancia y utilidad de dichos datos para los esfuerzos de conservación.

Introduction Logging impacts millions of hectares of forests globally every year, and not only affects tree cover, but also disrupts below-ground soil communities that are essential for forest ecosystems. Soil fungi are particularly vulnerable to such disturbances due to their reliance upon plant hosts as their source of carbon. Fluctuations within the major guilds of fungi important for forest function can have ramifications for plant communities and biogeochemical processes. We addressed questions about soil fungal communities in temperate forest stands with varying logging histories: (1) Do assembly patterns of soil fungal communities and functional guilds reflect historical differences in logging legacies? (2) Does sequencing of below-ground communities of fungi resemble the composition of surveys of fungal fruiting bodies? (3) How do fungal communities in the litter layer differ from those in the soil and do these assembly patterns change with logging history? Methods Our study took place in the H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest in western Oregon, USA. We sampled soil and litter (Oi—Oe) in three sites with different logging histories: one clear cut in 1974, one selectively logged and thinned three times between 1974 and 2001, and one unlogged. We sequenced soil fungi separately for mineral soil samples and litter samples. Additionally, we compiled fruiting-body studies from 1972 through the present to compare with our eDNA samples. Results We found that four decades after logging had ceased there were detectable signatures within the soil fungal communities that distinguished logged from unlogged sites, indicating a legacy that affects many generations of fungi (PERMANOVA; p < 0.001 for both soil and litter fungi). There were also significant differences between litter and mineral soil communities (PERMANOVA; p < 0.001) with higher relative abundances of pathogens within the litter layer and a greater proportion of mycorrhizal fungi in the soil. Discussion These results highlight the importance of including forest litter in studies, as entire guilds of fungi can be underestimated when considering a single fraction. Together, these results have repercussions for the regeneration of forests following logging, as the composition of fungal guilds important to plant functions do not fully recover even after decades of cessation.

Net primary productivity (NPP) is a key ecosystem function of plant communities. Climate change is expected to affect NPP both directly and indirectly through associated edaphic and plant community factors. Changes in soil nutrients, plant species richness and/or functional group dominance may amplify or counteract direct climatic effects on NPP, and responses may differ above-versus belowground, making it challenging to predict the net effects on NPP. In this study, we manipulated temperature and precipitation at four sites spanning a latitudinal Mediterranean-climate gradient in the Pacific Northwest, USA, and measured aboveground, belowground, and total NPP responses in experimentally assembled prairie plant communities. Using structural equation models, we disentangled the direct effects of climate from its indirect effects through soil nutrient availability and plant community responses. We found that warming, primarily by reducing soil moisture (that is, drying), had a net negative effect on all aspects of NPP, but these negative effects were partially ameliorated by increasing nitrogen and phosphorus availability, as well as changes to the plant community. Specifically, warming, drying, and greater nutrient availability caused species richness to decline, leading to greater dominance by a restricted set of functional groups, which positively affected aboveground NPP. Furthermore, a shift from perennial grass to annual grass dominance increased the ratio of aboveground to belowground NPP. Our results demonstrate that the indirect effects of climate change can help partially buffer the negative direct effects on NPP in Mediterranean-climate prairies. However, increasing soil moisture limitation may still overwhelm the positive effects of such intermediary pathways.

Old-growth Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii forests produce complex environmental and spatial gradients along which biota assemble. Given this, it has been proposed that changes in the crown microenvironment are associated with different community assembly outcomes for needle fungi. Using high-throughput sequencing, the endophytic mycobiomes of needles were characterized for increasing ages of needles sampled along the boles of eight coastal Douglas-fir trees. Leveraging airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data to create three-dimensional "point cloud" representations of tree crowns revealed that crown closure accounted for more fungal compositional variation than height in crown, and fungal richness and diversity were positively correlated with increasing crown closure. Supplementing the point clouds of each climbed tree with clouds from >5,000 randomly selected trees in the study area showed that fungal communities from closed portions of the crown were increasingly structured with needle age. These findings highlight the importance of the crown microenvironment in the development of foliar fungal communities for a foundation tree species.

Tree diversity inventories were undertaken. The goal of this study was to understand changes in tree community dynamics that may result from common anthropogenic disturbances at the Reserva Los Cedros, a tropical montane cloud forest reserve in northern Andean Ecuador. The reserve shows extremely high alpha and beta tree diversity. We found that all primary forest sites, regardless of age of natural gaps, are quite ecologically resilient, appearing to return to a primary-forest-type community of trees following gap formation. In contrast, forests regenerating from anthropogenic disturbance appear to have multiple possible ecological states. Where anthropogenic disturbance was intense, novel tree communities appear to be assembling, with no indication of return to a primary forest state. Even in ancient primary forests, new forest types may be forming, as we found that seedling community composition did not resemble adult tree communities. We also suggest small watersheds as a useful basic spatial unit for understanding biodiversity patterns in the tropical Andes that confound more traditional Euclidean distance as a basic proxy of dissimilarity. Finally, we highlight the conservation value of Reserva Los Cedros, which has managed to reverse deforestation within its boundaries despite a general trend of extensive deforestation in the surrounding region, to protect a large, contiguous area of highly endangered Andean primary cloud forest.

Aim How climate change will alter plant functional group composition is a critical question given the well-recognized effects of plant functional groups on ecosystem services. While climate can have direct effects on different functional groups, indirect effects mediated through changes in biotic interactions have the potential to amplify or counteract direct climatic effects. As a result, identifying the underlying causes for climate effects on plant communities is important to conservation and restoration initiatives. Location Western Pacific Northwest (Oregon and Washington), USA. Methods Utilizing a 3-year experiment in three prairie sites across a 520-km latitudinal climate gradient, we manipulated temperature and precipitation and recorded plant cover at the peak of each growing season. We used structural equation models to examine how abiotic drivers (i.e. temperature, moisture and soil nitrogen) controlled functional group cover, and how these groups in turn determined overall plant diversity. Results Warming increased the cover of introduced annual species, causing subsequent declines in other functional groups and diversity. While we found direct effects of temperature and moisture on extant vegetation (i.e. native annuals, native perennials and introduced perennials), these effects were typically amplified by introduced annuals. Competition for moisture and light or space, rather than nitrogen, were critical mechanisms of community change in this seasonally water-limited Mediterranean-climate system. Diversity declines were driven by reductions in native annual cover and increasing dominance by introduced annuals. Main conclusions A shift towards increasing introduced annual dominance in this system may be akin to that previously experienced in California grasslands, resulting in the "Californication" of Pacific Northwest prairies. Such a phenomenon may challenge local land managers in their efforts to maintain species-rich and functionally diverse prairie ecosystems in the future.

Spatial gradients in population growth, such as across latitudinal or elevational gradients, are often assumed to primarily be driven by variation in climate, and are frequently used to infer species' responses to climate change. Here, we use a novel demographic, mixed-model approach to dissect the contributions of climate variables vs. other latitudinal or local site effects on spatiotemporal variation in population performance in three perennial bunchgrasses. For all three species, we find that performance of local populations decreases with warmer and drier conditions, despite latitudinal trends of decreasing population growth toward the cooler and wetter northern portion of each species' range. Thus, latitudinal gradients in performance are not predictive of either local or species-wide responses to climate. This pattern could be common, as many environmental drivers, such as habitat quality or species' interactions, are likely to vary with latitude or elevation, and thus influence or oppose climate responses.

With ongoing climate change, populations are expected to exhibit shifts in demographic performance that will alter where a species can persist. This presents unique challenges for managing plant populations and may require ongoing interventions, including in situ management or introduction into new locations. However, few studies have examined how climate change may affect plant demographic performance for a suite of species, or how effective management actions could be in mitigating climate change effects. Over the course of two experiments spanning 6 yr and four sites across a latitudinal gradient in the Pacific Northwest, United States, we manipulated temperature, precipitation, and disturbance intensity, and quantified effects on the demography of eight native annual prairie species. Each year we planted seeds and monitored germination, survival, and reproduction. We found that disturbance strongly influenced demographic performance and that seven of the eight species had increasingly poor performance with warmer conditions. Across species and sites, we observed 11% recruitment (the proportion of seeds planted that survived to reproduction) following high disturbance, but just 3.9% and 2.3% under intermediate and low disturbance, respectively. Moreover, mean seed production following high disturbance was often more than tenfold greater than under intermediate and low disturbance. Importantly, most species exhibited precipitous declines in their population growth rates (λ) under warmer-than-ambient experimental conditions and may require more frequent disturbance intervention to sustain populations. Aristida oligantha, a C4 grass, was the only species to have λ increase with warmer conditions. These results suggest that rising temperatures may cause many native annual plant species to decline, highlighting the urgency for adaptive management practices that facilitate their restoration or introduction to newly suitable locations. Frequent and intense disturbances are critical to reduce competitors and promote native annuals' persistence, but even such efforts may prove futile under future climate regimes.

Prairies in the Pacific Northwest are dominated by perennial bunchgrasses. A Mycena in the citrinomarginata complex was observed to tightly co-occur with bunchgrasses at several prairie study sites. Mapping and spatial statistics showed that it was strongly and significantly associated with Festuca roemeri tussocks. We further found that this fungus is attached to F. roemeri roots (17/17 examined) and both specific primers and next-generation DNA sequencing established that the fungus is in the roots, suggesting that M. citrinomarginata may be endophytic or biotrophic in some contexts, and not simply saprotrophic. These results combined with a literature review indicate that Mycena species are often found as endophytes in grass roots. Given the importance of grasses and grasslands for humans, this ecological association deserves further study.

We analyzed a set of historical data from rapid vegetation inventories in a tropical montane cloud forest in northern Andean Ecuador. Trees in plots from several types of forest were counted and measured, including: (1) primary forest, including mature and recently closed-canopy sites and naturally formed gaps, (2) abandoned pasture, and (3) intensively-farmed sites. The goal of the study was to understand in a specific period of time the similarities and differences among natural and anthropogenic disturbances and their potential long term effect on the forest plant community. We found that mature and intermediate close canopy sites are similar. Also old forest is quite resilient to gap-forming disturbance. Natural gaps are quickly colonized by old-forest-associated plant species, and return to an old-forest-type community of trees in a short time. In contrast, forests regenerating from anthropogenic disturbance appear to have multiple possible states: some regenerating forest sites where the anthropogenic disturbance were low are coming to closely resemble old-forest-type communities, but some where the anthropogenic disturbance was intense appear to be changing in a very different direction, which does not resemble any other vegetation community type currently in the forest. A major predictor of present ecological state is the type of land use before reforestation: pastures can occasionally transition back to the pre-disturbance state of forest. More intensively used sites, many of which are abandoned sugar cane plantations, do not return to a pre-disturbance ecological state, instead forming a new and different kind of forest, dominated by a different community of trees. We examined tree-seedling communities to understand the trajectory of the forest into the future, and find that new forest types may be forming that do not resemble any existing associationsintensive agricultural sites. We also found that Los Cedros is extremely diverse in tree species. We estimate approximately 500 species of tree in only the small southeastern area of the reserve that has been explored scientifically. Additionally, the forest tree community shows extremely rapid distance decay (beta-diversity), approaching near complete turn-over in the limited spatial extent of the study. This suggests that hundreds of other tree species remain to be observed in the reserve, in addition to the 350+ that are directly observed in the present study, including new observations of species with IUCN threatened-endangered status. We also highlight the conservation value of Reserva Los Cedros, which has managed to reverse deforestation within its boundaries despite a general trend of extensive deforestation in the surrounding region, and to protect large, contiguous areas of highly-endangered Andean primary cloud forest habitat.

In 2008, Ecuador recognized the Constitutional Rights of Nature in a global first. This recognition implies a major shift in the human-nature relationship, from one between a subject with agency (humans) and an exploitable object (nature), to a more equilibrated relationship. However, the lack of a standard legal framework has left room for subjective interpretations and variable implementation. The recent widespread concessioning of pristine ecosystems to mining industries has set up an unprecedented conflict and test of these rights. Currently, a landmark case involving Los Cedros Protected Forest and mining companies has reached the Constitutional Court of Ecuador. If Ecuador's highest Court rules in favor of Los Cedros and the Rights of Nature, it would set a legal precedent with enormous impact on biological conservation. Such a policy shift offers a novel conservation strategy, through citizen oversight and action. A ruling against Los Cedros and the Rights of Nature, while a major setback for biodiversity conservation, would be taken in stride by the active social movement supporting these goals, with the case likely moving into international courts. Meanwhile, extractive activities would continue and expand, with known consequences for biodiversity.

Summary Demographic studies measure drivers of plant fecundity including seed production and survival, but few address both abiotic and biotic drivers of germination such as variation in climate among sites, population density, maternal plants, seed type and fungal pathogen abundance. We examined germination and microbial communities of seeds of Danthonia californica , which are either chasmogamous (external, wind‐pollinated) or cleistogamous (internal, self‐fertilized) and Festuca roemeri , which are solely chasmogamous. Seed populations were sourced across environmental gradients. We tested germination and used high‐throughput sequencing to characterize seed fungal community structure. For F . roemeri , maternal plants significantly influenced germination as did climate and pathogens; germination increased from wetter, cooler sites. For D . californica , the main drivers of germination were maternal plant, seed type and pathogens; on average, more chasmogamous seeds germinated. Fungal communities depended largely on seed type, with fewer fungi associated with cleistogamous seeds, but the communities also depended on site factors such as vapor pressure deficit, plant density and whether the seeds had germinated. Putative pathogens that were negatively correlated with germination were more abundant for both D . californica and F . roemeri chasmogamous seeds than D . californica cleistogamous seeds. In D . californica , cleistogamous and chasmogamous seeds contain vastly different fungal communities.

Fungal endophytes are a ubiquitous feature of plants, yet for many fungi the benefits of endophytism are still unknown.The Foraging Ascomycete (FA) hypothesis proposes that saprotrophic fungi can utilize leaves both as dispersal vehicles and as resource havens during times of scarcity.The presence of saprotrophs in leaf endophyte communities has been previously observed but their ability to transfer to non-foliar saprobic substrates has not been well investigated.To assess this ability, we conducted a culture study by placing surface-sterilized leaves from a single tropical angiosperm tree (Nectandra lineatifolia Mez) directly onto sterile wood fragments and incubating them for 6 weeks.Fungi from the wood were subsequently isolated in culture and identified to the genus level by ITS sequences or morphology.Four-hundred and seventy-seven fungal isolates comprising 24 taxa were cultured from the wood.Of these, 70.8% of taxa (82.3% of isolates) belong to saprotrophic genera according to the FUNGuild database.Furthermore, 27% of OTUs (6% of isolates) were basidiomycetes, an unusually high proportion compared to typical endophyte communities.Xylaria flabelliformis, although absent in our original isolations, formed anamorphic fruiting structures on the woody substrates.We introduce the term viaphyte (literally, "by way of plant") to refer to fungi that undergo an interim stage as leaf endophytes and, after leaf senescence, colonize other woody substrates via hyphal growth.Our results support the Foraging Ascomycete hypothesis and suggest that viaphytism may play a significant role in fungal dispersal.

Fungal endophytes are a ubiquitous feature of plants, yet for many fungi the benefits of endophytism are still unknown. The Foraging Ascomycete (FA) hypothesis proposes that saprotrophic fungi can utilize leaves both as dispersal vehicles and as resource havens during times of scarcity. The presence of saprotrophs in leaf endophyte communities has been previously observed but their ability to transfer to non-foliar saprobic substrates has not been well investigated. To assess this ability, we conducted a culture study by placing surface-sterilized leaves from a single tropical angiosperm tree (Nectandra lineatifolia) directly onto sterile wood fragments and incubating them for 6 weeks. Fungi from the wood were subsequently isolated in culture and identified to the genus level by ITS sequences or morphology. Four-hundred and seventy-seven fungal isolates comprising 24 taxa were cultured from the wood. Of these, 70.8% of taxa (82.3% of isolates) belong to saprotrophic genera according to the FUNGuild database. Furthermore, 27% of OTUs (6% of isolates) were basidiomycetes, an unusually high proportion compared to typical endophyte communities. Xylaria flabelliformis, although absent in our original isolations, formed anamorphic fruiting structures on the woody substrates. We introduce the term viaphyte (literally, "by way of plant") to refer to fungi that undergo an interim stage as leaf endophytes and, after leaf senescence, colonize other woody substrates via hyphal growth. Our results support the FA hypothesis and suggest that viaphytism may play a significant role in fungal dispersal.