Diversity of responses of soil saprobic fungi to recurring heat events

Abstract

As a consequence of ongoing climate change, the frequency of extreme heat events is expected to increase. Recurring heat pulses may disrupt functions supported by soil microorganisms, thus affecting the entire ecosystem. However, most perturbation experiments only test effects of single heat events, and therefore it remains largely unknown how soil microorganisms react to repeated pulse events. Here we present data from a lab experiment exposing 32 filamentous fungi, originally isolated from the same soil, to sequential heat perturbations. Soil saprobic fungi isolates were exposed to one or two heat pulses: mild (35{degrees}C/2h), strong (45{degrees}C/1h), or both in sequence (35{degrees}C/2h+45{degrees}C/1h), and we assessed growth rate. Out of the 32 isolates 13 isolates showed an antagonistic response, 3 isolates a synergistic response and 16 isolates responded in an additive manner. These differences in species responses to the thermal environment may contribute to species coexistence, and such dissimilarities in thermal perturbation responses may be a key aspect influencing ecosystem services that soil saprobic fungi support.