Diversity and seasonality of polypore fungi in the moist deciduous forests of Peechi-Vazhani Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala, India

Abstract

The objective of present study was to understand the diversity, distribution and seasonality of polypore fungi in the moist deciduous forests of Peechi-Vazhani Wildlife Sanctuary in three different seasons. Results obtained showed that density and frequency of occurrence have been varied significantly during different seasons and the community structure and species composition during monsoon and post monsoon seasons were distinct from pre-monsoon season. Fomitopsis feei with higher abundance values dominated the moist deciduous forests during monsoon season (17.72) and post-monsoon season (13.79). During pre-monsoon season, Daedalea flavida was the dominant species with abundance value of 10.93. The above fungi were predominant during all the seasons due to their high ecological amplitude. Fungal diversity analysis showed that species richness was higher during monsoon season and revealed the influence of seasonal variation on fungal diversity. The high species similarity was observed between monsoon and post monsoon season compared to pre-monsoon and monsoon.