Characterizing oomycete communities after windstorm disturbance in alpine Norway spruce forests: A metabarcoding approach

Abstract

Understanding the effects of windstorm disturbances on soil communities is of pivotal importance. Oomycete communities host some species of plant pathogens, which might affect the forest regeneration after the disturbance. Here, we sampled a large area to compare three habitats (e.g., windfall, old clearings, and undisturbed spruce forest) along a gradient of elevation and slope. We used an eDNA metabarcoding approach targeting the rps10 gene. Our results showed that both wind disturbance and underlying topography can influence the richness of oomycetes. Higher richness of oomycetes was found in disturbed sites and high steepness. We did not find differences in community composition among the different habitat types at the landscape scale. However, we found significant differences among drainage basins at larger spatial scale. Our work contributed to the understanding of the oomycete communities in Norway spruce forests affected by wind disturbance.