The attitude towards the forest and satisfaction with life of Polish students.

The aim of the study is to determine the connection between the attitude towards the forest and life satisfaction of students. The study was conducted on a sample of 650 students from Polish universities using The Satisfaction With Life Scale and an original questionnaire measuring the approach towards the forest-LAS scale. There are 3 subscales which measured: the perceived benefits from spending time in the forest; the degree of involvement in exploring the forest and working to its advantage; fears connected with the forest. The scale indicated good psychometric properties. Its reliability expressed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient is at the level of 0.90 (0.93 for Benefits scale; 0.87 for Involvement and 0.79 for Fears). The results of the statistical analysis have led to conclusions confirming the relationship between life satisfaction and the results of LAS scale. People satisfied with their lives are more involved in exploring the forest, they enjoy more benefits connected with forest recreation and express fewer fears. Forestry students are characterised by the highest involvement and the lowest level of fears connected with the forest. As far as life satisfaction is concerned, they are in the lead among Polish students just behind students of medical and artistic studies.

Effects of nursery production methods on fungal community diversity within soil and roots of Abies alba Mill.

The aim of this study was to elucidate how different nursery production methods influence the composition of and relationship between soil and root community levels of Abies alba. In the Miedzylesie Forest District, we quantified the responses of samples of both community-level fine roots and surrounding soil to environmental changes evoked by various seedling production methods. Fungi levels were identified based on their ITS 1 region and 5.8 S rDNA component. Analysis was conducted using Illumina SBS technology, and the obtained sequences were compared with reference samples deposited in the UNITE. Chemical analysis of the soil was also performed. Different nursery production methods resulted in a strong decoupling in the responses of fungal community levels between soil and roots. Changes in growth conditions imposed by production methods were significant in determining species composition. We found differences in fungal communities among functional groups of samples. In the soil, the dominant species of mycorrhizal fungi were Tylospora asterophora, Amanita rubescens, and Russula ionochlora. Mycorrhizal fungi in roots included Tuber anniae, Thelephoraceae sp., and Acephala applanata. Specific soil substrate conditions significantly influenced fungal community composition, leading to an increase in abundance of mycorrhizal fungi, specifically T. anniae.

Variability of Functional Groups of Rhizosphere Fungi of Norway Spruce (Picea abies (L.) H.Karst.) in the Boreal Range: The Wigry National Park, Poland.

Rhizosphere microbial communities can influence plant growth and development. Natural regeneration processes take place in the tree stands of protected areas, which makes it possible to observe the natural changes taking place in the rhizosphere along with the development of the plants. This study aimed to determine the diversity (taxonomic and functional) of the rhizosphere fungal communities of Norway spruce growing in one of four developmental stages. Our research was based on the ITS region using Illumina system sequencing. Saprotrophs dominated in the studied rhizospheres, but their percentage share decreased with the age of the development group (for 51.91 from 43.13%). However, in the case of mycorrhizal fungi, an opposite trend was observed (16.96-26.75%). The most numerous genera were: saprotrophic Aspergillus (2.54-3.83%), Penicillium (6.47-12.86%), Pyrenochaeta (1.39-11.78%), pathogenic Curvularia (0.53-4.39%), and mycorrhizal Cortinarius (1.80-5.46%), Pseudotomentella (2.94-5.64%) and Tomentella (4.54-15.94%). The species composition of rhizosphere fungal communities was favorable for the regeneration of natural spruce and the development of multi-generational Norway spruce stands. The ratio of the abundance of saprotrophic and mycorrhizal fungi to the abundance of pathogens was high and promising for the durability of the large proportion of spruce in the Wigry National Park and for forest ecosystems in general.

The effect of herbicides on morphological features of pollen grains in Prunus serotina Ehrh. in the context of elimination of this invasive species from European forests.

Prunus serotina Ehrh. is an alien invasive neophyte widespread in European forests. So far, no effective methods of its elimination have been developed. For this reason, the aim of our study was to determine how herbicides affect the morphological characteristics of pollen grains. This knowledge may be crucial to control this invasive species. The current study was carried out in a research area of 2.7 ha located in the Zielonka Forest near Poznan, Poland (N 52°31'58.016″, E 17°05'55.588″). We tested morphological differences among ten features of P. serotina pollen, based on the samples collected from 15 control trees compared to the 50 trees treated with five different herbicides. In total 1950 pollen grains were measured. We confirmed the adopted hypotheses of long-term herbicide influence on P. serotina pollen. Pollen grains from the control trees had a longer equatorial axis, were more elongated in shape and had the largest range of exine thickness compared to the pollen from the herbicide-treated samples. Exine thickness in the control sample was on average 0.74 µm, ranging from 0.42 to 1.19 µm. The average values and the ranges of this trait in the samples treated with herbicides were larger (e.g. average exine thickness was from 0.90 to 0.95 µm). There were differences in the P/E ranges of variability between the control and herbicide-treated samples. In the control sample the P/E ratio was 1.32-2.04 and elongated forms of pollen shapes prevailed, while in the herbicide-treated samples it ranged from 1.03 to 1.47. The share of deformed pollen grains in the herbicide-treated samples was lower than expected, ranging from 8.7 to 25.3%, while in the control samples it was 6%. Logo and Mustang turned out to be the most effective among the herbicides used in the described research. The two used application methods were found to have an effect on pollen quality.

Effect of Irrigation Dose on Powdery Mildew Incidence and Root Biomass of Sessile Oaks (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.).

The sessile oak is one of the most significant forest tree species in Europe. This species is vulnerable to various stresses, among which drought and powdery mildew have been the most serious threats. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of irrigation levels (overhead sprinklers) on the damage caused by powdery mildew to Quercus petraea growing in a nursery setting. Four irrigation rates were used: 100%, 75%, 50% and 25% of the full rate. The area of the leaves was measured and the ratio between the dry mass of the roots and the dry mass of the entire plant was calculated after the growing season in years' 2015 and 2016. Limiting the total amount of water provided to a level between 53.6 mm × m-2 and 83.6 mm × m-2, particularly in the months when total precipitation was low (VII and VIII 2015), a supplemental irrigation rate between 3 and 9 mm × m-2 resulted in a lower severity of oak powdery mildew on leaves and lead to a favorable allocation of the biomass of the sessile oak seedlings to the root system. The severity of infection on oak leaf blades was lower when irrigation rates were reduced. The greatest mean degree of infestation in 2015 was noted in the 100% irrigation rate (14.6%), 75% (6.25%), 50% (4.35%) and 25% (5.47%). In 2016, there was no significant difference between the mean area of leaves infected by powdery mildew depending on the applied irrigation rate. The shoot-root biomass rate showed greater variation under limited irrigation rates. Controlling the irrigation rate can become an effective component of integrated protection strategies against this pathogen.

Sociodemographic Determinants of Poles' Attitudes towards the Forest during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Attitudes towards forest ecosystems have been changing together with human needs, which is amplified with society's increasing need to spend recreation time in the forest. The phenomenon has been particularly visible during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to determine the attitude of Poles to forests during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research was based on (1) a sociodemographic background questionnaire that consisted of questions about the independent variables and (2) the LAS scale-an independently prepared tool for measuring attitudes towards the forest. In the survey, 1025 people participated (673 women). The age of the subjects was between 19 and 68. The attitude towards the forest was analysed in three dimensions: Benefits, Involvement, and Fears. The Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance by ranks were used for statistical analysis. Women and people with primary education expressed the most fears connected with going to the forest. Men and people living in the countryside and in small towns, as well as respondents who were professionally active and performing work connected with forests were the most involved in exploring the forest and working for its benefit. Concerning the forest, concerned women, people from the highest age group, respondents with university education, and white-collar workers notice the most benefits from recreational activities in the forest.

Communities of Fungi in Black Cherry Stumps and Effects of Herbicide.

So far, there have been no studies on fungal communities in Prunus serotina (black cherry) wood. Our objectives were to characterize fungal communities from P. serotina wood and to evaluate effects of glyphosate (Glifocyd 360 SL) used on P. serotina stumps on abundance, species richness and diversity of those communities. In August 2016, in the Podanin Forest District, stumps of black cherry trees left after felling were treated with the herbicide. Control stumps were treated with water. Wood discs were cut from the surface of the stumps in May and July-August 2017. Eight treatment combinations (2 herbicide treatments × 2 disc sizes × 2 sample times) were tested. Sub-samples were pooled and ground in an acryogenic mill. Environmental DNA was extracted with a Plant Genomic DNA Purification Kit. The ITS1, 5.8S rDNA region was used to identify fungal species, using primers ITS1FI2 5'-GAACCWGCGGARGGATCA-3' and 5.8S 5'-CGCTGCGTT CTTCATCG-3'. The amplicons were sequenced using the Illumina system. The results were subjected to bioinformatic analysis. Sequences were compared with reference sequences from the NCBI database using the BLASTn 2.8.0 algorithm. Abundance of fungi was defined as the number of Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs), and diversity as the number of species in a sample. Differences between the number of OTUs and taxa were analyzed using the chi-squared test (χ2). Diversity in microbial communities was compared using diversity indices. A total of 54,644 OTUs were obtained. Culturable fungi produced 49,808 OTUs (91.15%), fungi not known from culture had 2571 OTUs (4.70%), non-fungal organisms had 1333 (2.44%) and organisms with no reference sequence in NCBI, 934 OTUs (1.71%). The total number of taxa ranged from 120 to 319. Fungi in stump wood were significantly more abundant in July-August than in May, in stumps >5 cm diameter than in stumps <5 cm diameter, in glyphosate-treated than in untreated stumps when sampled in May, and in untreated than in glyphosate-treated stumps when sampled in July-August. Species richness was significantly greater in July-August than in May, and in stumps >5 cm diameter than in stumps <5 cm diameter, either treated or untreated, depending on size. Herbicides can therefore affect the abundance and diversity of fungal communities in deciduous tree wood. The greater frequency of Ascomycota in herbicide-treated than in untreated stumps indicates their greater tolerance of glyphosate.