IHI researchers discover new species of fungi on burn sites in Saxony

© Alexander Karich

Since the large-scale forest fires in August 2022 in the Saxon Switzerland National Park and the Gohrischheide Nature Reserve (NSG), scientists at IHI Zittau have been investigating various aspects of fire ecology in forests. The natural recolonization of burnt tree trunks and soils was investigated in selected study areas. Various mosses and fungi dominate in the first phase of recolonization of these heavily burnt areas by nature. In this context, the exact species inventory can provide a deeper insight into the sequence of such successions. For example, the scientists at IHI Zittau have succeeded in describing two new species of burnt area cup fungi ( https://ascomycete.org/Journal/Article/art-0421), which may represent a

© privat

play a key role in the recolonization of burn sites in temperate climate zones. They probably feed on the sugary plant sap that is released from fire-damaged trees as a result of the heat. These pyrophilic fungi and their biochemical activities subsequently form the basis for successful intrinsic renaturation, i.e. the self-healing of the burnt areas. The successful investigations of the burn areas are the result of intensive scientific collaboration between IHI Zittau and Saxon scientists from the national park (Dr. Annika Busse) and the nature reserve (Dr. Torsten Bittner) as well as with the Belgian mycologist Nicolas van Vooren.

© Alexander Karich