D3126: Deadwood dwellers: Insects and fungi utilizing downed oaks and pines

Deadwood dwelling insects and fungi play key roles in the breakdown of recalcitrant woody materials and the recycling of nutrients stored in decaying wood. Previous studies have focused on these organisms within the context of boreal forests. Studies examining the communities of deadwood associated insects and fungi within temperate forests, however, are scarce. To address this knowledge gap, we reared insects from downed logs in a managed longleaf pine forest to document the communities within this ecosystem that utilize deadwood as a substrate. In addition, we conducted fungal fruiting body surveys using those same logs. For each log, we recorded information related to tree identity, decay class, log size, and land management treatment to examine how these characteristics shape insect and fungal community composition. We report the results of our analyses of these different deadwood associated communities and their drivers.