Fungal diversity as influenced by soil characteristics

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of soil properties on the biodiversity of soil fungi. An analysis of the fungal diversity of eight different soil types with different soil texture, organic matter, carbonate content, pH, cation exchange capacity and different land uses identified a total of 38 different species grouped in 24 genera. Among all soil fungi identified, the most common were organic matter decomposers. The species most frequently identified were Aspergillus spp., Alternaria sp., Fusarium spp., Mortierella sp. and Penicillium spp. The greatest similarities between fungal communities were seen in arable land with a low or moderate cation exchange capacity and organic matter content, while the least similarities were found between forest Cambisol (CM) and garden soils. The Shannon-Wiener diversity index indicated the highest diversity in Chernozem (CH), Fluvisol (FL) and Arenosol (AR) all used as arable land or garden soil, while the lowest diversity was recorded in a Gleysol (GL) under a meadow, caused by poor aeration and a poor water regime. Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) showed the relationship of soil fungi with all soil environmental factors analysed and indicated that certain soil fungi were positively related to organic matter, sand and clay content.