Changes in the Soil Fungal Community in a Temperate Deciduous Forest at Different Altitudes in the Taihang Mountains

Soil fungi play vital roles in the forest soil ecosystems through the nutrient cycle and organic substance decomposition, so the distribution of fungi at different altitudes has attracted increasing attention. However, their abundance, diversity, and community structure at different altitudes in temperate deciduous forests have rarely been studied. In this study, the fungal communities around two dominant trees (<i>Quercus aliena</i> var. <i>acutiserrata</i> and <i>Carpinus turczaninowii</i> Hance) in temperate deciduous forests at different altitudes (low altitude, medium altitude, high altitude) in the Taihang Mountains were identified via Illumina high-throughput sequencing according to the UNITE database. The soil chemical properties (soil pH value, soil available potassium, alkaline hydrolyzed nitrogen, soil available phosphorus contents, soil total nitrogen, and carbon contents) were also measured. The results revealed that the dominant genera around the tree species were <i>Russula</i>, <i>Tylopilus</i>, <i>Sebacina</i>, <i>Saitozyma</i>, <i>Mortierella</i>, <i>Amanita</i>, and <i>Descolea</i>. The highest relative abundance of fungi occurred at the lowest altitude. The species richness index and diversity index of fungi around <i>Carpinus turczaninowii</i> at low altitudes were the highest. The soil pH, available potassium content, and alkaline hydrolyzed nitrogen content played a crucial role in the composition and diversity of the fungal communities at different altitudes. Therefore, soil physicochemical properties were the important factors in forming fungi composition and diversity at different altitudes in the temperate forest.