WOOD-INHABITING FUNGI AND SUBSTRATUM DECLINE IN SELECTIVELY LOGGED BOREAL SPRUCE FORESTS

Eleven Norway spruce Picea abies (L.) Karst. forests in the boreal zon e of Sweden were studied to investigate the effects of selective cutti ngs on wood-inhabiting fungi from the families Polyporaceae, Hymenocha etaceae and Corticiaceae (Basidiomycota). The II sites constitute a gr adient from extensively logged to semi-natural forests. Old selective leggings that occurred about 100 years ago have significantly decrease d the availability of large and highly decayed logs. Based on fruit bo dies, both the total species number as well as the number of threatene d species decreased with increasing degree of cutting. Some of the occ urring wood-inhabiting fungi are commonly accepted as indicator specie s of forests with old-growth conditions. These species showed pronounc ed preferences for well decayed and large logs. They were also more fr equent in the less affected sites and became rarer with increasing deg ree of cutting; they therefore seem to be good indicators of forests l ess affected by logging.