Carles Castaño Soler

With forestry as an academic background, my first contact with fungi started on 2007, when I worked 4 years as a forest pathologist at the Forest Science Center of Catalonia (CTFC). On 2015 I started an industrial phD at the University of Lleida about how forest management and abiotic parameters affect soil fungal communities. During that time, I also collaborated in studies investigating the ecology of the black truffle in Spain and drought resistance of soil fungi and pine seedlings. On November 2018 I came to the Department with Karina Clemmensen and Sara Hallin to investigate how fungal communities may influence vegetation shifts and how microbes may determine important ecosystem processes such as nitrogen and carbon cycling in soils by using molecular and biochemical methods. 

My ongoing projects include investigation of how reindeer affects soil fungi and soil processes in the arctic, and investigation of the soil fungal communities inhabiting semi-natural grasslands.

A pivotal theme in my research is to understand the ecosystem mechanisms driven by microbial communities that influence soil nutrient cycling, carbon storage, and plant colonization, approached from an ecosystem ecology perspective. A central interest is to incorporate the effects of management and disturbances (e.g., tree harvesting, pests, climate change, land-use changes) into this research. To address these questions, I employ both molecular and biochemical methods.

Other topics of interest include ecology of black truffle and drought responses of tree-associated soil fungi and mechanisms for drought adaptation.

Projects funded as principal investigator:

• FORMAS Mobility Grant. 
  Feeling the heat(h): Can reindeer grazing stabilize soil organic matter in arctic and alpine tundra heath under climate warming (2021-2025).

Projects funded as co-investigator:

• The Swedish Research Council
  Tree establishment in ericaceous understory – importance of mycorrhizal networks and guild interactions (2023-2028).

Molecular Methods in Microbial Ecology. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Sequencing and data handling lab. 4 hours lecture.

MSc in Mediterranean Forestry and Natural Resources Management. University of Lleida, Spain. Biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and the provisioning of goods and services (0.2 ECTS). 2 hours lecture.

MSc in Mediterranean Forestry and Natural Resources Management. University of Lleida, Spain. Trends of forestry in a climate change context (3 ECTS). 2 hours lecture

MSc in Mediterranean Forestry and Natural Resources Management. University of Lleida, Spain. Mediterranean Forest Management (5 ECTS). 2 hours lecture

PhD students

Eva Kubove (co-supervisor), Daniel Oliach (co-supervisor), Irene Adamo (co-supervisor) 

Master students

Rieke Lo Madsen, Albert Morera

• Castaño C, Ylänne H, Clemmensen KE. 2025. Editorial: Fungal ecology at treelines. Fungal Ecology, accepted.
• Ylänne H, Castaño C, Clemmensen KE. 2025. Fungi in treeline ecotones– halting or causing abrupt ecosystem change? Fungal Ecology, accepted.
• Stein Åslund M, Reichelt M, Zhang K, Castaño C, Stenlid J, Gershenzon J, Malin Elfstrand M. 2025. Scots Pines With Tolerance to Melampsora pinitorqua and Diplodia sapinea Show Distinct Metabolic Profiles. Plant, Cell & Environment 48 (2), 1479-1493.
• Riggi LGA, Sveen TR, Castaño C, Onorati P, van Apeldoorn DF, Berri M, Mommer L, Clemmensen KE, Bahram M. 2025. Impact of plant diversity in potato-ley strip-cropping systems on soil microbial communities. Applied Soil Ecology 206, 105777.
• Tyvijärvi A, Stark S, Ylänne H, Castaño C, Adamczyk B. 2024. Shifts in soil C stabilization mechanisms are linked to reindeer-induced changes in plant communities and associated fungi in subarctic tundra. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 194, 109441.
• Seidel F*, Castaño C*, Alday JG, Bonet JA. 2024. Contrasting fungal functional groups influence nutrient cycling across four Japanese cool-temperate forest soils. Applied Soil Ecology 198, 105360.
• Piñuela Y, Alday JG, Oliach D, Castaño C, Büntgen U, Egli S, Martínez Peña F, Dashevskaya S, Colinas C, Peter M, Bonet JA. 2024. Habitat is more important than climate for structuring soil fungal communities associated in truffle sites. Fungal Biology 128 (2), 1724-1734.
•  Torppa KA, Castaño C, Glimskär A, Skånes H, Klinth M, Roslin T, Taylor AR, Viketoft M, Clemmensen KE, Maaroufi NI. 2024. Soil moisture and fertility drive earthworm diversity in north temperate semi-natural grasslands. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 362, 108836.
•  Štraus D, Redondo MA, Castaño C, Juhanson J, Clemmensen KE, Hallin S, Oliva J. 2024. Plant-soil feedbacks among boreal forest species. Journal of Ecology 112 (1) 138-151. 
• Castaño C, Hallin S, Egelkraut D, Lindahl BD, Olofsson J, Clemmensen KE. 2023. Contrasting plant–soil–microbial feedbacks stabilize vegetation types and uncouple topsoil C and N stocks across a subarctic‐alpine landscape. New Phytologist 238 (6), 2621-2633.
• Centenaro G, de-Miguel S, Amouzgar L, Piñuela Y, Son D, Bonet JA, Martínez de Aragón J, Dashevskaya S, Castaño C, Alday JG. 2023. Silvicultural management and altitude prevail on soil properties and fungal community in shaping understorey plant communities in a Mediterranean pine forest. Science of the Total Environment 858, 159860.
•  Castaño C, Suarez-Vidal E, Zas R, Bonet JA, Oliva J, Sampedro L. 2023. Ectomycorrhizal fungi with hydrophobic mycelia and rhizomorphs dominate in young pine trees surviving experimental drought stress. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 178, 108932.
•  Hagenbo A, Alday JG, Martínez de Aragón J, Castaño C, De-Miguel S, Bonet JA. 2022. Variations in biomass of fungal guilds are primarily driven by factors related to soil conditions in Mediterranean Pinus pinaster forests. Biology and Fertility of Soils. 58 (4), 487-501.
•  Oliach D, Castaño C, Fischer CR, Barry-Etienne D, Bonet JA, Colinas C, Oliva, J. 2021. Soil fungal community and mating type development of Tuber melanosporum in a 20-year chronosequence of black truffle plantations. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 165. 108510.
• Adamo I, Castaño C, Bonet JA, Colinas C, Martínez de Aragón J, Alday JG. 2021. Lack of phylogenetic differences in ectomycorrhizal fungi among distinct Mediterranean pine forest habitats. Journal of Fungi. 7 (10). 193.
•  Adamo I, Castaño C, Bonet JA, Colinas C, Martínez de Aragón J, Alday JG. 2021. Soil physico-chemical properties have a greater effect on soil fungi than host species in Mediterranean pure and mixed pine forests. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 160. 108320.
• Ylänne H, Madsen RL, Castaño C, Metcalfe DB, Clemmensen KE. 2021. Reindeer control over subarctic treeline alters soil fungal communities with potential consequences for soil carbon storage. Global Change Biology. 27 (18), 4254-4268.
• Adamo I, Piñuela Y, Bonet JA, Castaño C, Martínez de Aragón J, Parladé J, Pera J, Alday, J. 2021. Sampling forest soils to describe fungal diversity and composition. Which is the optimal sampling size in mediterranean pure and mixed pine oak forests? Fungal biology. 125 (6), 469-476.
• Piñuela Y, Alday JG, Oliach D, Castaño C, Bolaño F, Colinas C, Bonet JA. 2021. White mulch and irrigation increase black truffle soil mycelium when competing with summer truffle in young truffle orchards. Mycorrhiza 31 (3), 371-382.
• Hagenbo A, Piñuela Y, Castaño C, Martínez de Aragón J, de-Miguel S, Alday JG, Bonet JA. 2020. Production and turnover of mycorrhizal soil mycelium relate to variation in drought conditions in Mediterranean Pinus pinaster. New Phytologist 230 (4), 1609-1622.
• Collado E, Castaño C, Bonet JA, Hagenbo A, Martinez de Aragon J, de-Miguel S. 2020. Divergent above- and below-ground responses of fungal functional groups to forest vegetation disturbance. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 150, 108010.
• Castaño C, Camarero JJ, Zas R, Sampedro L, Bonet JA, Alday J, Oliva J. 2020. Insect defoliation impairs tree growth and decreases ectomycorrhizal fungal biomass but not diversity in conifer stands. Tree Physiology. 40 (12), 1712-1725.
• Alem D, Dejene T, Oria-de-Rueda JA, Geml J, Castano C, Smith JE, Martín-Pinto P. 2020 Soil fungal communities and succession following wildfire in Ethiopian dry Afromontane forests, a highly diverse underexplored ecosystem. Forest Ecology and Management. 474, 118328.
• Mari T, Castano C, Rodríguez A, Ibanez M, Lobo A, Sebastià MT. 2020. Fairy rings harbor distinct soil fungal communities and high fungal diversity in a montane grassland. Fungal Ecology. 47, 100962.
• Castaño C, Berlin A, Brandström Durling M, Ihrmark K, Lindahl BD, Stenlid J, Clemmensen KE, Olson Å. 2020. Optimized metabarcoding with Pacific Biosciences enables semi-quantitative analysis of fungal communities. New Phytologist. 228 (3).
• Oliach D, Colinas C, Castaño C, Fischer CR, Bolaño F, Bonet JA, Oliva J. 2020. The influence of forest surroundings on the soil fungal community of black truffle (Tuber melanosporum) plantations. Forest Ecology and Management. 469, 118199.
•  Castaño C, Hernández-Rodríguez M, Geml J, Eberhart J, Olaizola J, Oria-de-Rueda JA, Martín-Pinto P. 2020. Resistance of the soil fungal communities to medium-intensity fire prevention treatments in a Mediterranean scrubland. Forest Ecology and Management. 472, 118217.
• Tomao A, Bonet JA, Castaño C, de-Miguel C. 2020. How does forest management-related anthropogenic disturbances affect fungal diversity and community composition? Current knowledge and future perspectives for the conservation of forest fungi. Forest Ecology and Management. 457, 117678.
• Parladé, J.; Queralt, M.; Pera, J.; Bonet, J.A.; Castaño, C.; Martínez-Peña, F.; Piñol, J.; Senar, M.A, De Miguel, A. 2019. Temporal dynamics of soil fungal communities after partial and total clear-cutting in a managed Pinus sylvestris stand. Forest Ecology and Management. 449, 117456.
•  Castaño C, Bonet JA, Oliva J, Farré G, Martínez de Aragón J, Parladé J, Pera J, Alday JG. 2019. Rainfall homogenizes while fruiting increases diversity of spore deposition in Mediterranean conditions. Fungal Ecology. 39, 328-335.
• Castaño, C., Bekele T., Mediavilla, O., Geml, J., Oria-de-Rueda, J.A., Martin-Pinto, P. 2019. Changes in fungal diversity and composition along a chronosequence of Eucalyptus grandis plantations in Ethiopia. Fungal Ecology. 9, 328-335.
• Brodde L, Adamson K, Camarero J.J., Castaño C., Drenkhan, R., Lehtijarvi, A., Luchi, N., Migliorini, D., Sánchez-Miranda, A., Stenlid, J., Özdağ, Ş., Oliva, J. 2020. Diplodia tip blight on its way to the north: drivers of disease emergence in Northern Europe. Frontiers in Plant Sciences. 9, 1818.
• Castaño C, Alday JG, Lindahl BD, Martínez de Aragón J, de-Miguel S, Colinas C, Parladé J, Pera J, Bonet JA. 2018. Lack of thinning effects over inter-annual changes in soil fungal community and diversity in a Mediterranean pine forest. Forest Ecology and Management. 424, 420-427.
•  Castaño C, Lindahl BD, Alday JG, Hagenbo A, Martínez de Aragón J, Parladé J, Pera J, Bonet JA. 2018. Soil microclimate changes affect soil fungal communities in a Mediterranean pine forest. New Phytologist. 220, 1211-1221. doi: 10.1111/nph.15205. 
• Castaño C, Oliva J, Martínez de Aragón JM, Alday JG, Parladé J, Pera J, Bonet JA. 2017. Mushroom emergence detected by combining spore trapping with molecular techniques. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 83:e00600-17. doi:10.1128/AEM.00600-17. 
•  Castaño C, Alday JG, Parladé J, Pera J, Martínez de Aragón J, Bonet JA. 2017. Seasonal dynamics of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Lactarius vinosus are altered by changes in soil moisture and temperature. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 115, 253-260. doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2017.08.021. 
• Yurkewich JI, Castaño C, Colinas C. 2017. Chestnut Red Stain: Identification of the fungi associated with the costly discolouration of Castanea sativa. Forest Pathology. 47, e12335. doi:10.1111/efp.12335. 
•  Oliva J, Castaño C, Baulenas E, Domínguez G, González-Olabarría JR, Oliach D. 2016. The impact of the socioeconomic environment on the implementation of control measures against an invasive forest pathogen. Forest Ecology and Management. 380, 118-127. 
• Castaño C, Parladé J, Pera J, Martínez de Aragón J, Alday JG, Bonet JA. 2016. Soil drying procedure affects the DNA quantification of Lactarius vinosus but does not change the fungal community composition. Mycorrhiza. 26, 799-808. doi:10.1007/s00572-016-0714-3. 

Natural Resources Institute Finland. Jan-Apr 2024.

Natural Resources Institute Finland. Jan-Apr 2023.

Yamagata University (Tsuruoka, Japan). May-June 2018.

Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (Barcelona, Spain). June-September (2014)