Site Characteristics and Vegetation Structure of the Habitat of Cauliflower Mushroom (Sparassis crispa)

• Published in: Hangug gynnhaghoi ji Vol. 37; no. 1
• Main Authors: Oh, D.S., Jeonnam forest Resource Research Institute, Naju, Republic of Korea, Park, J.M., Jeonbuk Forest Environment Research Institute, Jeonju, Republic of Korea, Park, H., Korea Forest Research Institute, Seoul, Republic of Korea, Ka, K.H., Korea Forest Research Institute, Seoul, Republic of Korea, Chun, W.J., Gyeongbuk Forest Environment Research Institute, Gyeongju, Republic of Korea
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 01-06-2009
• Subjects: BIODIVERSIDAD; BIODIVERSITE; BIODIVERSITY; fertile soil; heart-rot; Sparassis crispa
• ISSN: 0253-651X; 2383-5249

From 2006 to 2008, natural habitat of Sparassis crispa were surveyed for investigating ecological conditions at sixteen different sites in Korea. The investigated sites showed very wide altitudinal distribution ranged from 240 meters to 1,100 meters above the sea level. In general, S. crispa showed distinct feature of heart-rot fungi as it occurs on soils around the stems of larch (Larix kaempferi) and Korean white pine (Pinus koraiensis). But it also could be found on stems or on the stumps of dead trees, which indicated that the fungus might have several invasion routes and capabilities to grow on various ecological conditions. All of the sixteen sites were pure stands consisted with conifers such as larch or Korean white pine. The dominant tree layer showed 15.3~38.0 meters for tree heights, thicker than twenty centimeters for the diameter at breast height (DBH), and all of them were older than thirty years. Since the stands were pure stand, species diversity of trees in the sites was extremely low. While the dominant tree layer showed only pure coniferous stand, the co-dominant tree layer, shrub layer and herbaceous layer showed more diverse features with higher Shannon-Wiener (H') indices. Soil texture of thirteen sites among sixteen investigated sites were loamy soils, and the contents of organic matter in soil were more or less higher than general forest soils in Korea with 3.79~14.32%. The cation exchange capacity (CEC) was also relatively higher than general forest soils with 16.1~27.2 cmol+/kg. The data indicated that the cauliflower mushroom occurring sites were relatively fertile than general forest soils. The soils were acidic with pH ranged from 4.2 to 5.2, which were typical features for conifer stands in Korea.