Functional diversity of ectomycorrhizal fungal communities along a peatland-forest gradient

Peatlands are valuable wetland ecosystems that are widespread in boreal forest regions. In addition to harboring numerous uniquely adapted species, they play a major role in global climate regulation due to their ability to sequester large amounts of carbon in soil. Despite their significance, however, many aspects of peatland ecology remain largely unknown. Our study aimed to deepen the understanding of one such aspect, namely peatland ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal communities. The structure of belowground ECM fungal communities of Scots pine along a peatland - forest ecotone in the Lithuanian Cepkeliai peatland was examined by molecular identification of ectomycorrhizae collected at the study sites. Additionally, the ectomycorrhizae functionality, as expressed by exploration types, was assessed. The results revealed significant differences in the taxonomic composition of ECM fungal communities along the gradient. Moving from peatland to forest, a gradual increase in ECM fungal taxonomic richness was observed. As the soil water content increases, the medium and long distance exploration types of ectomycorrhizae became more prevalent and dominated on the peatland site. To our knowledge, this study is the first to document ECM fungal communities of Scots pine in peatland conditions and in European peatlands more broadly.