Yeasts in forest soils

Abstract

Soil yeasts are common inhabitants of various soils, including those in forest biotopes. Historically, yeasts were studied mainly in vineyard, orchard and agricultural soils. Due to limited ecological surveys, yeasts represent yet a poorly known fraction of the microorganisms in forest soils. Our knowledge of soil yeasts is biased towards temperate and boreal forests, whereas data from Africa, Americas and Asia is scarce. Forest soils in the Southern hemisphere are strongly undersampled. This chapter provides the first comprehensive review of yeasts in forest soils, their diversity, nutrition, traits and possible ecosystem services. Basidiomycetes are dominant in forest soils, but ascomycetes genera, including several fermenting yeasts, are also permanent residents in the soil. A particular focus in the chapter is dedicated to the review of yeast diversity after reclassification of previously polyphyletic yeast genera Cryptococcus, Rhodotorula and Trichosporon. Factors influencing distribution of soils yeasts are also discussed in this chapter.