JAPANESE JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY

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This review summarizes a series of studies demonstrating the diversity and functions of fungal communities along geographical gradients and their relationships with environmental variation. The diversity and functions of leaf litter-decomposing fungi responded significantly to latitudinal and elevational gradients and to environmental changes due to forest cutting and succession. Fungal isolates were then examined in pure culture tests to verify the effects of individual environmental factors on the potential ability of these fungi to decompose leaf litter. The species richness of endophytic fungi of tree leaves decreased gradually, whereas the degree of specialization of the interaction network between endophytes and plant species increased, from subtropical to cool temperate and subboreal forests in Japan. Wood-rot fungi were compared among subtropical, cool temperate, and subalpine forests in Japan to demonstrate the dominance of white-rot basidiomycetes that simultaneously decompose lignin and cellulose during early stages of decomposition of coarse woody debris in these forests. In later stages of decomposition, on the other hand, xylariaceous ascomycetes, soft-rot ascomycetes, and brown-rot basidiomycetes function in the selective decomposition of cellulose in subtropical, cool temperate, and subalpine forests, respectively.

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Ecology needs to become a practical science that can contribute to solving the conflict between human activities and nature. Communicators in ecology are needed to perform outreach activities, which promote citizens’ understanding of basic ecological concepts and advocacy activities, which, in turn, promote the development of policies informed by facts and needs at the frontline and provide information for decision-makers. This paper discusses the training of communicators, strategies for science policy, their relationship with academic societies, and basic conditions for public activities. Natural history museums are academic institutions that are open to the public and provide a platform for discussions between these two sectors; they can also be used to develop the skills of communicators. Museums would better serve as communication platforms in society with the presence of communicators. Academic society itself would gain new perspectives as it gets feedback from citizens seeking better utilization of their knowledge and function for consensus building.

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