Diversity of poroid and some corticoid wood-inhabiting fungi along the rainfall gradient in tropical forests, Costa Rica

Abstract

The influence of a rainfall gradient on the distribution and species richness of some groups of wood-inhabiting basidiomycetes was explored in Costa Rican tropical forests. The relationships between these fungi and wood size and decay stage were also studied. Basidiocarps of all poroid and some corticoid fungi were recorded in three plots of 30 logs in each of dry, moist, and wet forests. The logs were surveyed three times during one year, covering all seasons. The species richness gradient was inversely related to the rainfall gradient, with most species in the dry forest (51), least in the wet forest (37), and intermediate in the moist forest (44). A total of 102 species were identified. Only six species occurred at all three sites. Two of the four most common species were new to science. The composition of wood-inhabiting fungal species in the dry forest varied from both the moist and the wet forest, while species composition in the two latter forest types was difficult to distinguish. Both frequent and rare species utilized the different decay stages as expected from availability of substrate. Perennials and rare species tended to occur on large logs in the dry forest, while all species tended to occur on large logs in the moist forest, but not in the wet forest.