Fungal species associated with litter-mycelial mat formation in an Abies holophylla forest in Korea

We examined the fungal species associated with litter-mycelial mat formation in a Korean Abies holophylla forest. The 60 recovered isolates comprised 20 fungal taxa, including 17 ascomycetes, 1 zygomycete, 1 basidiomycete, and 1 deuteromycete. The most abundant species was Peziza sp., followed by Mortierella sp., Chaetomium globosum, Xylaria sp.-1, Xylaria sp.-2, and Coniochaeta velutina. Peziza sp., C. globosum, and Xylaria spp. produced colored zones on guaiacol medium, indicating lignin degrading ability. Nine of the 10 ligninolytic fungi were ascomycetes associated with formation of the litter-mycelial mat in the A holophylla forest litter layer. These results indicate that ascomycetes play an important role in the formation of litter-mycelial mats in forest litter layers, and the period of mat formation seems to be the early to middle stages of decomposition in forest ecosystems.