Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41873801›Full record

ArticleMolecular ecology2026

Connectivity and Age of Restored Atlantic Forest Fragments Drives Composition and Functionality of the Fungal Community in the Leaf Litter Layer.

Guilherme Lucio Martins, Dina In 't Zandt, Luis Fernando Merloti, Wanderlei Bieluczyk, Gabriel Silvestre Rocha, Robert Timmers, Ricardo Ribeiro Rodrigues, Siu Mui Tsai, Wim H van der Putten

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In one paragraph

Article in Molecular ecology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Guilherme Lucio MartinsCenter for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture (CENA), University of São Paulo (USP), Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8953-2529
Dina In 't ZandtDepartment of Terrestrial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, the Netherlands.
Luis Fernando MerlotiCenter for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture (CENA), University of São Paulo (USP), Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil.
Wanderlei BieluczykCenter for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture (CENA), University of São Paulo (USP), Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil.
Gabriel Silvestre RochaCenter for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture (CENA), University of São Paulo (USP), Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil.
Robert TimmersEcology & Biodiversity Group, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2901-509X
Ricardo Ribeiro RodriguesLuiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ), University of São Paulo (USP), Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil.
Siu Mui TsaiCenter for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture (CENA), University of São Paulo (USP), Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil.
Wim H van der PuttenDepartment of Terrestrial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, the Netherlands.

Funding

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível SuperiorFundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo 2018/19000-4Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo 2018/19000-6Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo 2022/05561-0Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo 2023/18333-8Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo Process 2021/00976-4HORIZON EUROPE Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions 101110604
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The restoration of biodiversity and functional tropical forests is critical to mitigating global biodiversity losses. Aboveground, increasing the connectivity of regenerating forest fragments facilitates the recolonization of tropical forest biodiversity. However, restoring functional ecosystems also requires the recovery of decomposition processes as these are essential in shaping aboveground biodiversity. Therefore, we investigate the role of forest connectivity in restoring the composition and functioning of fungal communities in the leaf litter layer during a chronosequence of forest restoration. In the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, we studied secondary forests regrown between 18 and 55 years after deforestation and different levels of forest connectivity and compared their litter to recently abandoned pastures and undisturbed primary forests. We quantified how forest age and connectivity between fragments influenced the litter fungi composition in relation to tree diversity, litter chemistry and litter isotopes. We show that fungal composition was highly heterogeneous in forest litter, whereas pasture litter exhibited a more homogeneous community. Moreover, forest connectivity had stronger effects on litter fungal composition compared to forest age. Connectivity promoted wood saprotrophs and endophytes, while suppressing soil saprotrophs, with its effects being more evident during later stages of restoration. Fungal guilds such as endophytes and saprophytes were primarily influenced by tree diversity and leaf litter chemistry. We conclude that forest connectivity promotes the re-establishment of saprophytic fungi capable of decomposing recalcitrant litter substrates, driven mainly by enhancing tree diversity and litter quality. Practical implications of increasing connectivity may relate to forest resilience in front of future climate change scenarios.

Indexed as

ForestsFungiMycobiomePlant LeavesSoil MicrobiologyBiodiversityBrazilConservation of Natural ResourcesEcosystemSoilTreesSoilecosystem servicesforest chronosequencefungal guildsfungi sequencinglandscape connectivitylitter saprophytes

Identifiers

PMID41873801
PMCPMC13010786

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.