Nutrient availability explains distinct soil fungal colonization of angiosperm versus gymnosperm wood.

Soil fungi play an essential role in the fungal colonization of deadwood, with consequences for multiple ecosystem functions such as wood decomposition. Nutrient deposition can substantially affect fungal activity, but it is unclear how external nutrient inputs and host plant nutrient content interact to influence soil fungal colonization of deadwood. To advance understanding of fungal dynamics during deadwood decomposition, we conducted a field experiment with eight tree species (four angiosperms and four gymnosperms) under four nutrient additions (no nutrient addition, nitrogen (N)‐addition, phosphorus (P)‐addition and combined N‐ and P‐addition), to investigate fungal colonization and communities in different host plant clades (angiosperms and gymnosperms) over 3 years. The study revealed that host plant clade and nutrient availability interact significantly, which strongly influenced soil fungal colonization of deadwood. The percentage of shared fungi (present in both soil and deadwood) was higher in angiosperms (38.1%–47.3%) than in gymnosperms (26.5%–36.5%). Saprotrophs were the dominant functional group in the shared fungal community, with symbiotrophs as the next most abundant group, and the dominant fungal taxa were mainly K‐strategists, which were more abundant in gymnosperms than in angiosperms. Notably, there was a stronger connection between soil fungi and deadwood fungi in gymnosperms compared to angiosperms, which was likely related to the importance of K‐strategist fungi for decomposing wood with low nutrient content. Overall, the shared fungal community in angiosperms was more sensitive to nutrient addition than in gymnosperms, resulting in greater changes to fungal taxa and functional groups. In angiosperm wood, N‐addition significantly increased α‐diversity but decreased β‐diversity of the shared fungal community, indicating N‐limitation. In gymnosperm wood, P‐addition significantly reduced both α‐diversity and β‐diversity of the shared fungal community, indicating P‐limitation. Synthesis. Our study demonstrates the divergent effect of nutrient addition on fungal colonization in angiosperms versus gymnosperms. Considering interactions between inherent plant traits and exogenous nutrient availabilities thus provides a more comprehensive understanding of the association between soil fungi and deadwood fungi during wood decomposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]