Spatial structure and diversity of woody plants and ectomycorrhizal fungus sporocarps in a natural subtropical forest

Spatial patterns of ectomycorrhizal fungi, ectomycorrhizal plants, and non-ectomycorrhizal plants were investigated in a natural subtropical forest using second-order analysis. The results of spatial pattern analysis showed that the degree of clumping of woody plants and ectomycorrhizal sporocarps were correlated. There was a significantly positive correlation of relative aggregation indices between ectomycorrhizal fungi and both non-ectomycorrhizal trees and ectomycorrhizal saplings. Correlations between percentage of ectomycorrhizal trees and sporocarp occurrence of ectomycorrhizal fungi and between diversities of woody plants and ectomycorrhizal fungi were distance-dependent or scale-related. A significantly high percentage of ectomycorrhizal trees was found only at relatively short distance from ectomycorrhizal fungal sporocarps, and significantly positive correlation of the diversity between woody plants and ectomycorrhizal fungi was found only at relative long distance, which implied that ectomycorrhizal sporocarps prefer ectomycorrhizal-tree-dominant micro-sites at near distances and at relatively large scales, diverse ectomycorrhizal sporocarps could be found in woodlands with high diversity of woody plants. Important factors affecting the spatial distribution, occurrence, and diversity of ectomycorrhizal fungi include spatial pattern of ectomycorrhizal plants and non-ectomycorrhizal plants, percentage of ectomycorrhizal plants, and plant diversity in a natural forest.