Researching the role of fungi in the decay of coarse woody debris (CWD) of European beech was divided in two parts. Determining the loss of CWD density during decay was done in part one, while the second part investigated the distribution and succession of fungi in the decaying CWD, using the denaturating gradient gel electophoresis (DGGE). To study the suitability of other, less toxic, density measuring techniques than the standard mercury one,samples were measured in a mercury medium as well as in a water medium. For water measurements we used Sartorius MSA 323S scale with YDK01 Density Determination Kit for the first time in our labs. We measured basic, absolute and saturated densities. Lower densities in higher decay phases were detected,as expected. The YDK01 Density Determination Kit proved to be a reliable method of measuring wood sample densities in water. However, some optimizations will have to be considered in the future. Molecular methods for studying fungi in CWD are in Slovenia still in early phases. Based on DNA extracted from fungi inside CWD, we conducted a DGGE analysis, resulting in fungi community profiles for each sample. According to the results, different decay stages host different types of fungi species. The number of fungi species per sample increases with higher decay phases. Genetic distances determined from DGGE profiles and geographic distances were not in high correlation.
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