Abstract:

Aims: As indispensable biological resources, myxomycetes play an important role in forest ecosystems. We studied the diversity of myxomycetes and the factors affecting myxomycetes community composition and diversity in the forests of Northwest China.
Methods: We collected myxomycetes from multiple locations in Qilian Mountain National Nature Reserve of Gansu province continuously over two years. Specimens were identified by morphological features. Principal component analysis method was used to analyze the relationship between substrates and myxomycetes.
Results: In total, we collected 826 specimens of myxomycetes belonged to four orders, five families, 22 genera, and 71 species. Among them, 30 species were newly recorded in Gansu province. We analyzed each species’ distribution and found that nine species, including Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa, were widely distributed in the natural reserve. A total of 58 species, including 38 endemic species, were recorded in coniferous forests, compared to 33 total and 13 endemic species that were recorded in broadleaved forests. The diversity of myxomycetes did not vary significantly over elevation. A principal components analysis showed that the diversity of myxomycetes was richest in rotten wood, and that the species composition of myxomycetes on woody substrates was significantly different from that on herbal substrates.
Conclusion: Our results suggests that substrate and vegetation type in montane forests are both important factors affecting myxomycetes community composition and diversity in Qilian Mountain Natural Reserve of Gansu Province.

Key words: myxomycetes, taxonomy, species diversity, forest ecosystem, distribution characteristics