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Metabarcoding reveals soil fungal diversity shifts in the artificial cloud forest and volcanic desert of Ascension Island

Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Ascension Island is a remote oceanic island that was a volcanic desert prior to human colonisation. In the 19th century, an artificial cloud forest was established by a military garrison to improve the scarce water supply. Using ITS metabarcoding of topsoil environmental DNA, we compared the fungal communities of the desert and the Green Mountain cloud forest. Forest soils had higher total nitrogen and carbon, and lower pH than desert soils. Fungal richness was higher in forest soils and ordination analysis revealed distinct fungal communities in each habitat. Both habitats contained a high percentage of unclassified fungal OTUs, implying the presence of native/endemic fungal flora, with a shift from Ascomycota in the desert to Asco-Basidiomycota in the forest. Indicator species analysis revealed habitat- and vegetation-specific fungal taxa, and the presence of cosmopolitan fungi in forest and unknown fungi in the desert soils, suggesting reshaping of fungal communities due to the afforestation.
DOI: 10.1016/j.funeco.2026.101542
Authors: Kleopatra Grammatiki, Nadieh de Jonge, Jacob Hargreaves, Michele Cleary, Diana Marčiulynienė, Eleni Kytinou, Akira F. Peters, Thomas Freitag, Pieter van West, Frithjof C. Küpper, Steve Woodward
Institutions: University of Aberdeen, Aalborg University, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, University of the Aegean, James Hutton Institute, San Diego State University, University of Cyprus, Isparta University of Applied Sciences
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,500
OpenAlex ID: W7204884068
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Cites: 54
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