Microfungal biodiversity on Fagus grandifolia in an old-growth forest of Eastern North-America

Microfungi are one of the most neglected groups of organisms in biodiversity studies. Yet, they are overly important in representation and could be one of the best indicators of ecological integrity of old-growth forests. We made an inventory of the microfungi associated with woody aerial parts of Fagus grandifolia in the Boise-des-Muir, an old growth beech-maple forest of Southern Quebec, Canada. Our inventory revealed a remarkable diversity, with 60 genera and 76 species isolated (Ascomycota 31, Hyphomycetes 23, Coelomycetes 20 and Zygomycota 2), including many species never previously found on beech as well as two species never described before. Due to the high biological interest of old-growth forests and their potential for diverse niches for microfungi, we believe that this type of ecosystem should particularly be the focus of microfungi inventories efforts.