Stand age affects fungal community composition in a Central European temperate forest

Fungi are key mediators of ecosystem processes in temperate forests. Hence, understanding of fungal community development is central to better understand the mechanisms driving shifts in ecosystem processes during forest succession. We studied fungal communities in soil, rhizosphere and roots in a Central European forest chronosequence (1–137 years) dominated by Fagus sylvatica and Picea abies. We assessed whether and how fungal community composition and productivity change along the forest age gradient. Stand age did not have any significant effect on fungal ergosterol content but community composition shifted with the stand age. In particular, the composition of the community of root-associated ectomycorrhizal fungi responded to stand age. Relative abundances of different fungal ecological guilds did not change with forest age and ectomycorrhizal exploratory types were not good predictors of community dynamics. Our results suggest that the stand age effect on community composition may be driven by changes in nutrient supply provided by plant hosts to root-associated fungi.