The role of saprothropic metacommunities in wood decomposition and carbon dioxide flux in a large-scale field experiment

Fungi play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle by decomposing organic matter in terrestrial ecosystems. However, our understanding of how fungal community assembly relates to ecosystem functioning remains quite limited.

In particular, we have a poor understanding of how various fungal species and fungal communities control wood decomposition rates and hence carbon emissions.

To address these knowledge gaps, this project proposes to utilize a unique large-scale translocation field experiment of 640 tree logs with controlled and randomized abiotic and biotic conditions.

The project aims to evaluate the metacommunity assembly and dynamics of saprotrophic species and their functional traits in relation to wood decomposition and carbon dioxide (CO2) flux across a range of wood qualities and densities.

This includes studying the dynamics of species and their resource-use traits, such as decay strategies and physical effects on wood.

The project will also investigate species associations and taxonomic relatedness in saprotrophic metacommunities, as well as species and functional trait diversity indices, in relation to wood decomposition and CO2 flux across a range of wood qualities and densities. The project design allow upscaling of findings, from logs to the landscape scale.

The results from this project have a high potential to significantly advance current understanding of saprotrophic metacommunity ecology and relationship to wood decomposition and CO2 flux.