Myxomycetes inhabit coarse woody debris in varying stages of decay; however, their ecology in the dead wood of evergreen broadleaf trees is not well known. In this study, we examined the relationships between myxomycete species and the decay stage of wood from fallen trees in an evergreen broadleaf forest in Japan. Myxomycete species richness and abundance were calculated for eight stages of decay in fallen logs, according to the appearance and wood hardness of log portions. A total of 70 myxomycete species (including varieties) were found on the logs. Moderately decayed wood was the preferred habitat of myxomycetes (57 species; 81% of the total) and most species inhabited moist decayed wood. Analysis by nonmetric multidimensional scaling enabled the differentiation of myxomycete assemblages, with five groupings recognized across the progression of decay. Forty-two species preferred a particular decay stage, represented by the decay index. Physarum viride and Stemonitis splendens particularly preferred the less-decayed wood and Stemonitopsis typhina var. similis especially inhabited the well-decayed wood. Species from the order Physarales dominated the less-decayed wood, whereas Trichiales and Liceales species dominated the softer well-decayed wood. Myxomycetes diversity was high in and varied among logs with various stages of decay in a typical Japanese evergreen forest.

粘菌菌在不同的腐烂阶段栖息在粗大的木屑中。然而，它们在常绿阔叶树的枯木中的生态却不为人所知。在这项研究中，我们研究了日本常绿阔叶林中粘菌种与倒下树木的木材腐烂阶段之间的关系。根据原木部分的外观和木材硬度，计算了落木原木腐烂的八个阶段的粘菌种的丰富度和丰度。在原木上共发现70种粘菌种（包括变种）。中度腐烂的木材是粘菌的首选栖息地（57种；占总数的81％），大多数物种都居住在潮湿的腐朽的木材中。通过非度量多维标度分析，可以区分粘菌丝组合，在整个衰变过程中识别出五个分组。有42个物种更喜欢以衰减指数表示的特定衰减阶段。特别是腐烂较弱的木材和鼠伤寒沙门氏菌，尤其是生长着绿色的Physarum viride和Stenonitis的猪笼草。similis特别居住在腐朽的木材上。草目中的物种主导了腐烂程度较弱的木材，而旋毛目和虱子目物种则主导了腐烂程度较弱的木材。在典型的日本常绿森林中，木霉菌的多样性很高，并且在原木之间具有不同的衰退阶段。