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CELLULAR SLIME MOLDS OF SWITZERLAND. II. DISTRIBUTION IN FOREST SOILS
Author(s) -
Traub Franz,
Hohl Hans R.,
Cavender James C.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
american journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.218
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1537-2197
pISSN - 0002-9122
DOI - 10.1002/j.1537-2197.1981.tb12376.x
Subject(s) - beech , biology , slime mold , deciduous , ecology , larch , species diversity , botany
A detailed analysis of occurrence and distribution of cellular slime molds in soils of different forest types of Switzerland is given. Specific prevalence patterns representative for each forest type were determined. The degree of complexity of these prevalence patterns parallels tree diversity of the respective forest communities. A comparison of the prevalence patterns shows that by proceeding from species‐rich to species‐poor sites the frequent and common species disappear, whereas the infrequent and rare species are conserved. Thus, these latter species, which probably represent specialists, appear to be of considerable ecological significance. Dictyostelium mucoroides is the overwhelming dominant in all forest types. Polysphondylium violaceum and D. minutum are abundant in the deciduous forests. These three species account for 87% of the clones isolated. Two species are characteristic of conifer forests, D. aureo‐stipes var. Helvetium and D. polycarpum. Other species encounterd and listed in decreasing order are D. fasciculatum. P. filamentosum, D. sphaerocephalum, D. giganteum, Acytostelium leptosomum, D. aureum var. luteolum and D. polycephalum. Diversity of species is greatest in the mesic beech forests of the Midland, Jura or Forealps regions but reduced populations containing unique cellular slime molds occur in the highest spruce, larch, and pine forests of the Alps.