Relationships Between Soil Mesofauna, Ectomycorrhizal Fungi, and Sclerotia in Forest Soils

In this study, we isolated sclerotia, soil mesofauna, and ectomycorrhizal fungi from soils in Fagus forests in northern and central Japan. We detected fungal species in soil mesofauna by using microbial community profiling methods, and the ectomycorrhizal fungal community profiles in soil were compared to those extracted from sclerotia and mesofauna samples. Our results indicate that Acari and Collembola play a major role in the regulation of ectomycorrhizal fungi in forest soils. We noted a relationship between soil pH and exchangeable aluminum content and sclerotia formation. Our findings also suggest that fungivory of Acari and/or Collembola toward sclerotia-forming ectomycorrhizal fungi is a key biological factor regulating sclerotia formation in forest soils.