The relationship between the dynamics of species richness and the abundance of ectomycorrhizal macromycetes (ECM) in relation to the different age of spruce monocultures planted on former agricultural soils is presented. Altogether, 37 species were found, at least in the 21-year-old stands (19 species) and the most in the 51-year-old stands (25). The most abundant species were Hygrophorus pustulatus (340 sporocarps), Russula aeruginea (261), Clitopilus prunulus (186), Paxillus involutus (155), Ramaria eumorpha (145), Laccaria bicolor (111). The interdependence between species richness and abundance was found in different aged stands. The greatest variability of values for species richness was found in the 31-year-old stand (32.77%) and the smallest value in the 51-year-old stand (4.33%). The highest variability in abundance values was found in the 21-year-old stand (100.11%) and the lowest in the 31-year-old stand (50.16%). The dependence of species richness and abundance on the age of the stands was significant only when comparing the abundance of the sporocarps in the 31-year-old stand with the 51-year-old stand, which means that the species richness and abundance of the ECM macromycetes sporocarps grow with the age of the stands. Ectomycorrhizal macromycetes (ECM) have a great importance in forest ecosystems, especially as symbionts of forest trees. It is generally known that the symbiotic relationship between ECM fungi and woods has positive effects on the health status of woody plants, the biochemical activity of woody plants and the overall stability of forests. The main objective of our research is to evaluate the process of colonization and spreading of mycoflora (especially symbiotic) in spruce monocultures, from the youngest to the oldest forests, which were planted on former agricultural land, where the presence of ectomycorrhizae was previously not anticipated. The aim of this paper is to describe the significance of symbiotic mycoflora for the ecosystem of monocultural spruces of different ages. The community of ECM macromycetes was investigated in 2016 in spruce monocultures planted on former agricultural land at the locality Vrchdobra hill (Central Slovakia, the Veporske vrchy Mts) on mycological permanent research plots PRPs (Al, A2, A3: three plots in 21-yearold stands, Bl, B2, B3: plots in 31-year-old stands and Cl, C2, C3: plots in 51-year-old stands, Tab. 1). The forest stands in the locality Vrchdobro hill were established in the last decades of the 20th century on the former agricultural land, which was delimited by a government order from the 1960s into a forest soil fund. Altogether, 37 ECM species were recorded, at least in the 21-year-old stand (19 species) and the most in the 51-year-old stands (25). The most abundant species were Hygrophorus pustulatus (340 sporocarps), Russula aeruginea (261), Clitopilus prunulus (186), Paxillus involutus (155), Ramaria eumorpha (145), Laccaria bicolor (111). The most frequent occurrence were Hygrophorus pustulatus (340 sporocarps), Russula aeruginea (261), Clitopilus prunulus (186), Paxillus involutus (155), Ramaria eumorpha (145), Laccaria bicolor (111). The highest values of the abundance of the sporocarps (812 ones) were found on PRP C (Tab. 2). The species such as Hygrophorus pustulatus (PRP Cl), Ramaria eumorpha (PRPs A3 and B3), and Clitopilus prunulus (A3 and B3) have the greatest impact on the diversity of the species composition and the abundance values of the ECM community (Fig. 1). The interdependence between species richness and abundance of ECM fungi was found in different aged stands. The greatest variability of values for species richness was found in the 31-year-old stand (32.77%) and the smallest value in the 51-year-old stand (4.33%). The highest variability in abundance values was found in the 21-year-old stand (100.11%) and the lowest in the 31-year-old stand (50.16%, Tab. 3). The dependence of species richness and abundance on the age of the stands was significant only when comparing the abundance of the sporocarps in the 31-year-old stand (PRPs B1 - B3) with the 51-year-old stand (PRPs C1 - C3), which means that the species richness and abundance of the ECM macromycetes sporocarps grow with the age of the stands (Tab. 4). The highest value as well as the smallest value of the species diversity was recorded in the oldest forest stands (C2 = 2.14, C1 = 1.39). The highest species constancy was found in the moderately aged forest stand on PRP B1 = 0.89 and the lowest also in the moderately aged PRP B3 = 0.55 (Tab. 6). The highest value of average mycorrhizal percentage was found in moderately aged stands (PRP B = 35.9%) and the smallest value in the oldest forest stands (PRP C = 32.26%), which means that the values of mycorrhizal percentage is lower in the oldest forest stands (Tab. 7). The ECM macromycetes find favorable conditions in the younger aged forests where their species diversity is higher, because the younger aged spruce stands still have a strong mycorrhizal potential for the occurrence of the amount of ECM macromycetes.
