11.1 Introduction
Most trees have symbiotic relationships with mycorrhizal fungi that aid in nutrient
uptake. These mycorrhizal fungi form resting bodies called sclerotia to survive
certain stressful environmental conditions such as low nutrients, low temperature,
and desiccation. Cenococcum geophilum Fr. is a cosmopolitan ectomycorrhizal
fungus well known for its extremely wide habitat range (LoBuglio 1999).
Cenococcum geophilum is known to be a pioneer species and is sometimes the
dominant ectomycorrhizal fungus in forests of artic, temperate, and subtropical
environments (Trappe 1964; Dunstan et al. 1998; Nilsen et al. 1998; Jonsson et al.
2000; Dickie and Reich 2005; Bahram et al. 2011; Phosri et al. 2012; Obase et al.
2016).
Cenococcum geophilum dominates in extreme environmental conditions and its
success in such habitats may be the result of high levels of sclerotial biomass (Vogt
et al. 1981; Trappe 1988). The biomass of C. geophilum sclerotia was estimated to be
440 kg ha
À1 in old-growth Norway spruce forests in southern Sweden (Dahlberg
et al. 1997) and 2785 kg ha
À1 in a second-growth Douglas fir stand in the Oregon
Coast Range (Fogel and Hunt 1979). The distribution of C. geophilum sclerotia has
also been examined in forest soils of the Harz Mountains in Germany (Watanabe
et al. 2004; Sakagami 2009). Sclerotia of C. geophilum are distributed in Andosols in
central Japan (Watanabe et al. 2002) and are also abundant in Pinus thunbergii
forests in coastal Japan (Matsuda et al. 2009). Fossil sclerotia of C. geophilum were
found from peaty sediment in Rishiri Island, Hokkaido, Japan (Kobayashi et al.
2015). These studies tentatively identified the sclerotia as the resting bodies of
C. geophilum according to descriptions of morphological characteristics provided
by Trappe (1969) and Massicotte et al. (1992).
Sclerotia of C. geophilum are abundant and have been studied in cool forest soils
around the world, although case studies in semi-arid areas are few. Cenococcum
geophilum sclerotia are black and spherical in structure (1–2 mm diameter), with a
durable outer wall, and can be visually detected in forest soil. In this study,
melanized fungal sclerotia grains found in Dark Kastanozem soil in steppe forest
in northern Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia were studied to elucidate their elemental composition in comparison with sclerotia grains collected from low-pH forest soils in
Japan.
11.2 Materials and Methods
11.2.1 Sampling Area
Soil samples containing sclerotia were collected from six sites, three in Mongolia
and three in Japan (Figs. 11.1 and 11.2), as follows: Two samples, (1) Terelji Temple
(TT) and (2) Terelji (TE), the distance between TT and TE 0.5 km, were taken from
the Terelji area located in Nalaikh District, Ulaanbaatar, northern Mongolia
194
K. Nyamsanjaa et al.
Most trees have symbiotic relationships with mycorrhizal fungi that aid in nutrient
uptake. These mycorrhizal fungi form resting bodies called sclerotia to survive
certain stressful environmental conditions such as low nutrients, low temperature,
and desiccation. Cenococcum geophilum Fr. is a cosmopolitan ectomycorrhizal
fungus well known for its extremely wide habitat range (LoBuglio 1999).
Cenococcum geophilum is known to be a pioneer species and is sometimes the
dominant ectomycorrhizal fungus in forests of artic, temperate, and subtropical
environments (Trappe 1964; Dunstan et al. 1998; Nilsen et al. 1998; Jonsson et al.
2000; Dickie and Reich 2005; Bahram et al. 2011; Phosri et al. 2012; Obase et al.
2016).
Cenococcum geophilum dominates in extreme environmental conditions and its
success in such habitats may be the result of high levels of sclerotial biomass (Vogt
et al. 1981; Trappe 1988). The biomass of C. geophilum sclerotia was estimated to be
440 kg ha
À1 in old-growth Norway spruce forests in southern Sweden (Dahlberg
et al. 1997) and 2785 kg ha
À1 in a second-growth Douglas fir stand in the Oregon
Coast Range (Fogel and Hunt 1979). The distribution of C. geophilum sclerotia has
also been examined in forest soils of the Harz Mountains in Germany (Watanabe
et al. 2004; Sakagami 2009). Sclerotia of C. geophilum are distributed in Andosols in
central Japan (Watanabe et al. 2002) and are also abundant in Pinus thunbergii
forests in coastal Japan (Matsuda et al. 2009). Fossil sclerotia of C. geophilum were
found from peaty sediment in Rishiri Island, Hokkaido, Japan (Kobayashi et al.
2015). These studies tentatively identified the sclerotia as the resting bodies of
C. geophilum according to descriptions of morphological characteristics provided
by Trappe (1969) and Massicotte et al. (1992).
Sclerotia of C. geophilum are abundant and have been studied in cool forest soils
around the world, although case studies in semi-arid areas are few. Cenococcum
geophilum sclerotia are black and spherical in structure (1–2 mm diameter), with a
durable outer wall, and can be visually detected in forest soil. In this study,
melanized fungal sclerotia grains found in Dark Kastanozem soil in steppe forest
in northern Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia were studied to elucidate their elemental composition in comparison with sclerotia grains collected from low-pH forest soils in
Japan.
11.2 Materials and Methods
11.2.1 Sampling Area
Soil samples containing sclerotia were collected from six sites, three in Mongolia
and three in Japan (Figs. 11.1 and 11.2), as follows: Two samples, (1) Terelji Temple
(TT) and (2) Terelji (TE), the distance between TT and TE 0.5 km, were taken from
the Terelji area located in Nalaikh District, Ulaanbaatar, northern Mongolia
194
K. Nyamsanjaa et al.