Fungi in leaves, twigs and stem bark of Populus tremula from northern Spain

Fungal species were recorded from Populus tremula leaves, twigs and bark (trunk) at eight sites in the northern region of Spain, with the aim of evaluating the effect of sampling site, sampling tissue and isolation method on the frequency and species distribution of the fungi recovered from necrotic and healthy tissues. Two different isolation methods were used: the first consisted of finding fruitbodies on plant tissues after incubating them in wet and warm conditions, and the second included growing mycelia from plant fragments plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA). A total of 48 fungal species were isolated from 960 plant fragments. Cytospora chrysosperma, previously reported to be a pathogen of poplar, was recovered very frequently and was recorded as much in healthy as in dead or dying tissues. Cladosporium maculicola, Elsinoe veneta, Alternaria alternata, Aureobasidium pullulans and Pollaccia radiosa were also frequently isolated. The isolation frequencies from necrotic and healthy plant tissues were significantly different between sites and isolation methods. The incubation in moist chambers revealed significantly more fungal isolates and a higher species richness (38 species) than isolations on PDA. However, 16% of the fungal species were exclusively recorded from cultures. Therefore, a combination of several isolation methods is recommended for surveys of fungal communities associated with trees.