Fungal succession in the needle litter of a montane Picea abies forest investigated through strain isolation and molecular fingerprinting

•The molecular methods and the isolation of fungi confirmed similar species.•Fungal community differed only in the initial stages of succession.•Faster decomposition and less fungi in litter several years from bark-beetle attack.•Dominance of Dothidealean fungi might be an effect of harsh climatic conditions.

Precise knowledge of the fungal succession in the litter of coniferous forests will facilitate understanding litter decomposition, in which fungi play a major role. We investigated the development of a fungal community during 3 yr of Picea abies litter decomposition in three control forest sites and three sites where bark-beetle attacks had killed adult trees and stopped the yearly input of fresh litter, using both cultivation from needles and terminal restriction-fragment length polymorphism analysis. The two methods revealed similar dominant species during the fungal succession. Members of the Dothideales, Eurotiales and Helotiales predominated during the initial stage of decay, whereas members of Agaricales appeared only occasionally during this stage. The onset of the latter began from the seventh month, with a peak occurring after 1 yr. Bark-beetle attacks hastened litter decomposition and decreased fungal diversity only during the initial stages of decomposition.