Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Fungi on Leaf Blades of Phragmites australis in a Brackish Tidal Marsh: Diversity, Succession, and Leaf Decomposition

  • Published:
Microbial Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Although fungi are known to colonize and decompose plant tissues in various environments, there is scanty information on fungal communities on wetland plants, their relation to microhabitat conditions, and their link to plant litter decomposition. We examined fungal diversity and succession on Phragmites australis leaves both attached to standing shoots and decaying in the litter layer of a brackish tidal marsh. Additionally, we followed changes in fungal biomass (ergosterol), leaf nitrogen dynamics, and litter mass loss on the sediment surface of the marsh. Thirty-five fungal taxa were recorded by direct observation of sporulation structures. Detrended correspondence analysis and cluster analysis revealed distinct communities of fungi sporulating in the three microhabitats examined (middle canopy, top canopy, and litter layer), and indicator species analysis identified a total of seven taxa characteristic of the identified subcommunities. High fungal biomass developed in decaying leaf blades attached to standing shoots, with a maximum ergosterol concentration of 548 ± 83 μg g–1 ash-free dry mass (AFDM; mean ± SD). When dead leaves were incorporated in the litter layer on the marsh surface, fungi experienced a sharp decline in biomass (to 191 ± 60 μg ergosterol g–1 AFDM) and in the number of sporulation structures. Following a lag phase, species not previously detected began to sporulate. Leaves placed in litter bags on the sediment surface lost 50% of their initial AFDM within 7 months (k = −0.0035 day–1) and only 21% of the original AFDM was left after 11 months. Fungal biomass accounted for up to 34 ± 7% of the total N in dead leaf blades on standing shoots, but to only 10 ± 4% in the litter layer. These data suggest that fungi are instrumental in N retention and leaf mass loss during leaf senescence and early aerial decay. However, during decomposition on the marsh surface, the importance of living fungal mass appears to diminish, particularly in N retention, although a significant fraction of total detrital N may remain associated with dead hyphae.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Apinis, AE, Chesters, CGC, Taligoola, HK (1972) Colonisation of Phragmites communis leaves by fungi. Nova Hedwig 23: 113–124

    Google Scholar 

  2. Barnett, HL, Hunter, BB (1998) Illustrated Genera of Imperfect Fungi, 4th edn. APS Press, St. Paul, MN

    Google Scholar 

  3. Blair, JM (1988) Nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus dynamics in decomposing deciduous leaf litter in the southern Appalachians. Soil Biol Biochem 20: 693–701

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Biondini, ME, Mielke, PW Jr, Berry, KJ (1988) Data-dependent permutation techniques for the analysis of ecological data. Vegetatio 75: 161–168

    Google Scholar 

  5. Boulton, AJ, Boon, PI (1991) A review of methodology used to measure leaf litter decomposition in lotic environments—time to turn over an old leaf. Aust J Mar Freshw Res 42: 1–43

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Buesing, N, Gessner, MO (2006) Benthic bacterial and fungal productivity and carbon turnover in a freshwater marsh. Appl Environ Microbiol 72: 596–605

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Buchan, A, Newell, SY, Moreta, JIL, Moran, MA (2002) Analysis of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of rRNA genes in fungal communities in a southeastern U.S. Salt Marsh. Microb Ecol 43: 329–340

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Casas, JJ, Gessner, MO (1999) Leaf litter breakdown in a Mediterranean stream characterised by travertine precipitation. Freshw Biol 41: 781–793

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Cooke, RC, Rayner, ADM (1984) Ecology of Saprotrophic Fungi. Longman, London, UK

    Google Scholar 

  10. Cowie, NR, Sutherland, WJ, Ditlhogo, KM, James, R (1992) The effects of conservation management of reed beds. II. The flora and litter disappearance. J Appl Ecol 29: 277–284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. De Mesel, I, Derycke, S, Swings, J, Vincx, M, Moens, T (2003) Influence of bacterivorous nematodes on the decomposition of cordgrass. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 296: 227–242

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Dennis, RWG (1981) British Ascomycetes. J. Cramer, London, UK

    Google Scholar 

  13. Dufrêne, M, Legendre, P (1997) Species assemblages and indicator species: the need for a flexible asymmetrical approach. Ecol Monogr 67: 345–366

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Ellis, MB (1971) Dematiaceous Hyphomycetes. Commonwealth Mycological Institute, Kew, Surrey, UK

    Google Scholar 

  15. Ellis, MB (1976) More Dematiaceous Hyphomycetes. Commonwealth Mycological Institute, Kew, Surrey, UK

    Google Scholar 

  16. Ellis, MB, Ellis, JP (1997) Microfungi on Land Plants. An identification handbook, new enlarged edition. Richmond Publishing, London, UK

    Google Scholar 

  17. Fell, JW, Hunter, IL (1979) Fungi associated with the decomposition of Juncus roemerianus in South Florida. Mycologia 71: 322–342

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Findlay, SEG, Dye, S, Kuehn, KA (2002) Microbial growth and nitrogen retention in litter of Phragmites australis compared to Typha angustifolia. Wetlands 22: 616–625

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Frankland, JC (1998) Fungal succession—unraveling the unpredictable. Mycol Res 102: 1–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Gessner, MO (2000) Breakdown and nutrient dynamics of submerged Phragmites shoots in the littoral zone of a temperate hardwater lake. Aquat Bot 66: 9–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Gessner, MO (2001) Mass loss, fungal colonisation and nutrient dynamics of Phragmites australis leaves during senescence and early decay. Aquat Bot 69: 325–339

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Gessner, MO, Newell, SY (2002) Biomass, growth rate, and production of filamentous fungi in plant litter. In: Hurst, CJ, Crawford, RL, Knudsen, GR, McInerney, MJ, Stetzenbach, LD (Eds.) Manual of Environmental Microbiology, 2nd edn. ASM Press, Washington DC, USA, pp 390–408

    Google Scholar 

  23. Gessner, MO, Schmitt, AL (1996) Use of solid-phase extraction to determine ergosterol concentrations in plant tissue colonized by fungi. Appl Environ Microbiol 62: 415–419

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Gessner, MO, Van Ryckegem, G (2003) Water fungi as decomposers in freshwater ecosystems. In: Bitton, G (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Environmental Microbiology. Wiley, New York (online edition: DOI: 10.1002/0471263397.env314)

  25. Gessner, MO, Thomas, M, Jean-Louis, AM, Chauvet, E (1993) Stable successional patterns of aquatic hyphomycetes on leaves decaying in a summer cool stream. Mycol Res 97: 63–172

    Google Scholar 

  26. Gessner, RV (1977) Seasonal occurrence and distribution of fungi associated with Spartina alterniflora from a Rhode Island estuary. Mycologia 69: 477–491

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Granéli, W (1990) Standing crop and mineral content of reed, Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud., in Sweden—management of reed stands to maximize harvestable biomass. Folia Geobot Phytotaxon 25: 291–302

    Google Scholar 

  28. Hietz, P (1992) Decomposition and nutrient dynamics of reed (Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud.) litter in Lake Neusiedl, Austria. Aquat Bot 43: 211–230

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Hudson, HJ, Webster, J (1958) Succession of fungi on decaying stems of Argopyron repens. Trans Br Mycol Soc 41: 165–177

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Hunt, HW, Reuss, DE, Elliott, ET (1999) Correcting estimates of root chemical composition for soil contamination. Ecology 80: 702–707

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Kirk, PM, David, JC, Stalpers, JA (2001) Ainsworth and Bisby's Dictionary of the Fungi (Including the Lichens), 9th edn. CAB International

  32. Kohlmeyer, J, Volkmann-Kohlmeyer, B (2001) The biodiversity of fungi on Juncus roemerianus. Mycol Res 105: 1411–1412

    Google Scholar 

  33. Komínková, D, Kuehn, KA, Büsing, N, Steiner, D, Gessner, MO (2000) Microbial biomass, growth, and respiration associated with submerged litter of Phragmites australis decomposing in a littoral reed stand of a large lake. Aquat Microb Ecol 22: 271–282

    Google Scholar 

  34. Krebs, CJ (1998) Ecological Methodology, 2nd edn. Addison Wesley Longman, Menlo Park, CA

    Google Scholar 

  35. Kuehn, KA, Suberkropp, K (1998) Decomposition of standing litter of the freshwater emergent macrophyte Juncus effusus. Freshw Biol 40: 717–727

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Kuehn, KA, Suberkropp, K (1998) Diel fluctuations in rates of CO2 evolution from standing dead leaf litter of the emergent macrophyte Juncus effusus. Aquat Microb Ecol 14: 171–182

    Google Scholar 

  37. Kuehn, KA, Churchill, PF, Suberkropp, K (1998) Osmoregulatory strategies of fungal populations inhabiting standing dead litter of the emergent macrophyte Juncus effusus. Appl Environ Microbiol 64: 607–612

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Kuehn, KA, Lemke, MJ, Suberkropp, K, Wetzel, RG (2000) Microbial biomass and production associated with decaying leaf litter of the emergent macrophyte Juncus effesus. Limnol Oceanogr 45: 862–870

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Kuehn, KA, Steiner, D, Gessner, MO (2004) Diel mineralization patterns of standing-dead plant litter: implications for CO2 flux from wetlands. Ecology 85: 2504–2518

    Google Scholar 

  40. Kufel, I, Kufel, L (1988) In situ decomposition of Phragmites australis Trin. ex Steudel and Typha angustifolia L. Ekol Pol 36: 459–470

    Google Scholar 

  41. Larsen, VJ, Schierup, HH (1981) Macrophyte cycling of zinc, copper, lead and cadmium in the littoral zone of a polluted and a non-polluted lake. II. Seasonal changes in heavy metal content of above-ground biomass and decomposing leaves of Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. Aquat Bot 11: 211–230

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Lee, SY (1990) Net aerial primary productivity, litter production and decomposition of the reed Phragmites communis in a nature reserve in Hong Kong: management implications. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 66: 161–173

    Google Scholar 

  43. McCune, B, Grace, JB (2002) Analysis of Ecological Communities. MjM Software Design, Gleneden Beach, OR, USA

    Google Scholar 

  44. McCune, B, Mefford, MJ (1999) PC-ORD for Windows. Multivariate Analysis of Ecological Data, Version 4.0. MjM Software, Gleneden Beach, OR, USA

    Google Scholar 

  45. Mille-Lindblom, C, von Wachenfeldt, E, Tranvik, LJ (2004) Ergosterol as a measure of living fungal biomass: persistence in environmental samples after fungal death. J Microbiol Methods 59: 253–262

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Mitsch, WJ, Gosselink, JG (2000) Wetlands (3rd edn) Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, USA

    Google Scholar 

  47. Newell, SY (2001a) Spore-expulsion rates and extents of blade occupation by Ascomycetes of the smooth-cordgrass standing-decay system. Bot Mar 44: 277–285

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Newell, SY (2001b) Multiyear patterns of fungal biomass dynamics and productivity within naturally decaying smooth cordgrass shoots. Limnol Oceanogr 46: 573–583

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Newell, SY (2003) Fungal content and activities in standing-decaying leaf blades of plants of the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems research area. Aquat Microb Ecol 32: 95–103

    Google Scholar 

  50. Newell, SY, Arsuffi, TL, Palm, LA (1996) Misting and nitrogen fertilization of shoots of a saltmarsh grass: effects upon fungal decay of leaf blades. Oecologia 108: 495–502

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Newell, SY, Arsuffi, TL, Palm, LA (1998) Seasonal and vertical demography of dead portions of shoots of smooth cordgrass in a south-temperate saltmarsh. Aquat Bot 60: 325–335

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Newell, SY, Fallon, RD, Miller, JD (1989) Decomposition and microbial dynamics for standing, naturally positioned leaves of the salt-marsh grass Spartina alterniflora. Mar Biol 101: 471–481

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Newell, SY, Fallon, RD, Rodriguez, RMC, Groene, LC (1985) Influence of rain, tidal wetting and relative humidity on release of carbon dioxide by standing-dead salt-marsh plants. Oecologia 68: 73–79

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Newell, SY, Moran, MA, Wicks, R, Hodson, RE (1995) Productivities of microbial decomposers during early stages of decomposition of leaves of a freshwater sedge. Freshw Biol 34: 135–148

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Newell, SY, Porter, D (2000) Microbial secondary production from saltmarsh-grass shoots and its known and potential fates. In: Weinstein, MP, Kreeger, DA (Eds.) Concepts and Controversion in Tidal Marsh Ecology. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, pp 159–186

    Google Scholar 

  56. Petrini, O, Sieber, TN, Toti, L, Vivet, O (1992) Ecology, metabolite production, and substrate utilisation in endophytic fungi. Nat Toxins 1: 185–196

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  57. Pieczyńska, E (1972) Ecology of the eulittoral zone of lakes. Ekol Pol 20: 637–732

    Google Scholar 

  58. Polunin, NVC (1984) The decomposition of emergent macrophytes in fresh water. Adv Ecol Res 14: 115–166

    Article  Google Scholar 

  59. Rice, WR (1990) A consensus combined P-value test and the family-wide significance of component tests. Biometrics 46: 303–308

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. Rodewald-Rudescu, L (1974) Das Schilfrohr. Die Binnengewässer, Band XXVII: 1–302

    Google Scholar 

  61. Samuels, AL, Glass, ADM, Ehret, DL, Menzies, JG (1991) Distribution of silicon in cucumber leaves during infection by powdery mildew fungus (Sphaerotheca fuliginea). Can J Bot 69: 140–149

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  62. Soetaert, K, Hoffmann, M, Meire, P, Starink, M, van Oevelen, D, Van Regenmortel, S, Cox, T (2004) Modeling growth and carbon allocation in two reed beds (Phragmites australis) in the Scheldt estuary. Aquat Bot 79: 211–234

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  63. Suberkropp, K (1991) Relationships between growth and sporulation of aquatic hyphomycetes on decomposing leaf litter. Mycol Res 95: 843–850

    Article  Google Scholar 

  64. Sutton, BC (1980) The Coelomycetes. Commonwealth Mycological Institute, CABI publishing, Oxon

    Google Scholar 

  65. Tanaka, Y (1991) Microbial decomposition of reed (Phragmites communis) leaves in a saline lake. Hydrobiologia 220: 119–129

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  66. Tanaka, Y (1993) Aerobic cellulolytic bacterial-flora associated with decomposing Phragmites leaf-litter in a seawater lake. Hydrobiologia 263: 145–154

    Article  Google Scholar 

  67. Tscharntke, T (1992) Fragmentation of Phragmites habitats, minimum viable population size, habitat suitability, and local extinction of moths, midges, flies, aphids and birds. Conserv Biol 6: 530–536

    Article  Google Scholar 

  68. Van Damme, S, Ysebaert, T, Meire, P, Van den Bergh, E (1999) Habitatstructuren, waterkwaliteit en leefgemeenschappen in het Schelde-estuarium. Rapport IN 99/24 (in Dutch), Instituut voor Natuurbehoud, Brussels, Belgium

    Google Scholar 

  69. Van Ryckegem, G, Verbeken, A (2005a) Fungal diversity and community structure on Phragmites australis (Poaceae) along a salinity gradient in the Scheldt estuary (Belgium). Nova Hedwig 80: 173–197

    Article  Google Scholar 

  70. Van Ryckegem, G, Verbeken, A (2005b) Fungal ecology and succession on Phragmites australis in a brackish tidal marsh. I. Leaf sheaths. Fungal Divers 19: 157–187

    Google Scholar 

  71. Van Ryckegem, G, Verbeken, A (2005c) Fungal ecology and succession on Phragmites australis in a brackish tidal marsh. II. Stems. Fungal Divers 20: 209–233

    Google Scholar 

  72. Webster, J (1956) Succession of fungi on decaying cocksfoot culms. I. J Ecol 44: 517–544

    Google Scholar 

  73. Willmer, C, Fricker, M (1996) Stomata, 2nd edn. Chapman & Hall, London, UK

    Google Scholar 

  74. Windham, L (2001) Comparison of biomass production and decomposition between Phragmites australis (common reed) and Spartina patens (salt hay grass) in brackish tidal marshes of New Jersey, USA. Wetlands 21: 179–188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  75. Wirsel, SGR, Leibinger, W, Ernst, M, Mendgen, K (2001) Genetic diversity of fungi closely associated with common reed. New Phytol 149: 589–598

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank R. Heynderickx and A. Van Heuverswijn for helping to make litter bags, A. Van Kenhove for support with nitrogen analyses, and Dr. G. Vandriessche for technical assistance and help with analyzing HPLC chromatograms. Prof. Dr. J. Van Beeumen kindly provided the HPLC system. We appreciate the critical comments of four anonymous reviewers, which greatly improved the manuscript. This research was funded by the Institute for the Promotion of Innovation by Science and Technology in Flanders, Belgium, through a grant to G.V.R.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department Biology, Research Group Mycology, Ghent University, K. L. Ledeganckstr. 35, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium

    G. Van Ryckegem & A. Verbeken

  2. Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag-Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, and Institute of Integrative Biology (IBZ), ETH Zurich, 6047, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland

    M. O. Gessner

Authors
  1. G. Van Ryckegem
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M. O. Gessner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. A. Verbeken
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to G. Van Ryckegem.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Van Ryckegem, G., Gessner, M.O. & Verbeken, A. Fungi on Leaf Blades of Phragmites australis in a Brackish Tidal Marsh: Diversity, Succession, and Leaf Decomposition. Microb Ecol 53, 600–611 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-006-9132-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-006-9132-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation