Effects of mycelial spatial gradients on soil nematode community structure and ecological functioning under understory morel cultivation
- 1Key Laboratory of Ecological Protection and Characteristic Industry Cultivation in Hengduan Mountain Area at Sichuan Minzu College of Sichuan Province Department of Education and Ganzi Prefecture , ,
- 2Sichuan Institute of Edible Fungi, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences , ,
Abstract
Introduction: Understanding how spatially heterogeneous fungal growth reshapes belowground food webs is essential for evaluating the ecological consequences of understory mushroom cultivation.
Methods: We investigated the spatial effects of understory cultivation of Morchella sextelata on soil nematode communities and food-web functioning in a pine forest. Soil samples were collected at 0 cm (R), 20 cm (R ₂₀ ) and 40 cm (R ₄₀ ) from the base of morel fruiting bodies, together with samples from an uncultivated control area (CK), and were analysed for nematode community composition, trophic structure, energy flux and environmental drivers.
Results: A total of 603 nematodes belonging to 19 genera were recovered, with total abundance following the order R > CK > R ₄₀ > R ₂₀ ( p < 0.05). Aphelenchoides and Aphelenchus were strongly enriched in R. PCA further revealed a clear separation of the R community from those of the other treatments (R ² = 0.58, p = 0.01). Fungivores and plant parasites were the dominant trophic groups, and their absolute abundances were significantly higher in R than in the other treatments ( p < 0.05). The R community was overwhelmingly dominated by colonizer-persister-2 (c-p2) colonisers (76.09%), whereas the relative contributions of c-p3 and c-p4 taxa increased with distance from the fruiting bodies. Community organisation and food-web functioning also varied markedly across the spatial gradient. R ₄₀ exhibited the greatest evenness index, diversity index and structure index ( SI ), indicating a more highly structured and mature food web, whereas R showed the highest dominance and the lowest maturity index ( MI ), consistent with persistent resource-driven disturbance. Total nematode energy flux and the energy fluxes of individual trophic groups peaked in R, with bacterivores contributing the greatest biomass and energy flux. RDA and PLS further indicated that spatial distance from the mycelium-dense zone was associated with changes in soil carbon availability and enzyme activity, which in turn were linked to shifts in nematode community composition, trophic structure, energy flow and ecological functioning.
Discussion: Our study reveals a spatially explicit pathway through which cultivated macrofungi reorganize soil faunal communities and energy flow, providing a multidimensional framework for assessing the ecological consequences of understory edible-mushroom cultivation.
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BibTeX
@article{peng2026effects,
title = {{Effects of mycelial spatial gradients on soil nematode community structure and ecological functioning under understory morel cultivation}},
author = {Bin Peng and Yingfei Xu and Wenxi Yang and Xun Li and Yan Zhang and Xiaolin Li},
journal = {Frontiers in microbiology},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3389/fmicb.2026.1948707},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13661972},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Effects of mycelial spatial gradients on soil nematode community structure and ecological functioning under understory morel cultivation
AU - Bin Peng
AU - Yingfei Xu
AU - Wenxi Yang
AU - Xun Li
AU - Yan Zhang
AU - Xiaolin Li
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/30
JO - Frontiers in microbiology
DO - 10.3389/fmicb.2026.1948707
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13661972
AB - Introduction: Understanding how spatially heterogeneous fungal growth reshapes belowground food webs is essential for evaluating the ecological consequences of understory mushroom cultivation. Methods: We investigated the spatial effects of understory cultivation of Morchella sextelata on soil nematode communities and food-web functioning in a pine forest. Soil samples were collected at 0 cm (R), 20 cm (R ₂₀ ) and 40 cm (R ₄₀ ) from the base of morel fruiting bodies, together with samples from an uncultivated control area (CK), and were analysed for nematode community composition, trophic structure, energy flux and environmental drivers. Results: A total of 603 nematodes belonging to 19 genera were recovered, with total abundance following the order R > CK > R ₄₀ > R ₂₀ ( p < 0.05). Aphelenchoides and Aphelenchus were strongly enriched in R. PCA further revealed a clear separation of the R community from those of the other treatments (R ² = 0.58, p = 0.01). Fungivores and plant parasites were the dominant trophic groups, and their absolute abundances were significantly higher in R than in the other treatments ( p < 0.05). The R community was overwhelmingly dominated by colonizer-persister-2 (c-p2) colonisers (76.09%), whereas the relative contributions of c-p3 and c-p4 taxa increased with distance from the fruiting bodies. Community organisation and food-web functioning also varied markedly across the spatial gradient. R ₄₀ exhibited the greatest evenness index, diversity index and structure index ( SI ), indicating a more highly structured and mature food web, whereas R showed the highest dominance and the lowest maturity index ( MI ), consistent with persistent resource-driven disturbance. Total nematode energy flux and the energy fluxes of individual trophic groups peaked in R, with bacterivores contributing the greatest biomass and energy flux. RDA and PLS further indicated that spatial distance from the mycelium-dense zone was associated with changes in soil carbon availability and enzyme activity, which in turn were linked to shifts in nematode community composition, trophic structure, energy flow and ecological functioning. Discussion: Our study reveals a spatially explicit pathway through which cultivated macrofungi reorganize soil faunal communities and energy flow, providing a multidimensional framework for assessing the ecological consequences of understory edible-mushroom cultivation.
SN - 1664-302X
ER -