MycoPerch
The role of perch trees in facilitating post-fire soil mycorrhizal fungal recolonization
Why MycoPerch?
High-severity wildfires increasingly disrupt forest soils and the mycorrhizal fungi that sustain plant establishment. MycoPerch explores how surviving “perch trees” act as biological legacies, fostering fungal recolonization, soil functioning, and vegetation recovery in Mediterranean forests.
Project objectives
01. Mycorrhizal recolonization
Assess how living perch trees preserve and spread soil mycorrhizal communities after fire.
02. Soil functioning
Link mycorrhizal recovery to key soil functions and ecosystem multifunctionality.
03. Vegetation recovery
Evaluate how fungal recolonization supports post-fire plant establishment.
How we work
Field studies across Mediterranean wildfire chronosequences combine soil and root sampling, mycorrhizal community analyses, and vegetation surveys to capture the spatio-temporal dynamics of post-fire recovery.
