The untold story of underground communities: Soil seedbanks and Fungi in Mountain Ash forests

This project aims to fill this research gap by addressing the questions: 1) What is the effect of time since fire on soil seedbanks and fungi along a chronosequence spanning 150 years in Mountain Ash forests? and 2) How does the composition of fungal communities, and soil seedbanks compare post fire to post clear-fell logging in similarly aged Mountain Ash forests? This research will generate crucial baseline data on the successional trajectories of fungi and soil seedbanks and determine the long term effects of fire, and logging on these communities. Contributing to 34 years of long term monitoring in these Australian Mountain Ash forests, the research will provide important new insights into forest and land management, particularly with respect to the conservation of fungal communities and soil seedbank and, in turn, the maintenance of the vitally important functional services they provide.