Succession and natural occurrence of saprobic fungi on leaves of Berchemia floribunda (climber) and their association with Magnolia liliifera (host)

Abstract

Fungal succession on various plants from different regions of the world have been well-studied, however there has been no report comparing the fungi on leaves of a climber with those of the supportive plant. Fungi on leaves of Berchemia floribunda, a climber, were studied to fungal diversity and succession over a period of leaf decomposition. These fungi were compared with those on leaves of Magnolia liliifera, the supportive plant, using data from previous studies at the same site. Leaves of B. floribunda were placed with the upper or lower leaf surface adjacent to the forest floor, hung above the ground either under the host tree or other tree species, or placed on the forest floor under the host tree or under other trees to establish the effects of these treatments. These leaf bait trials did not affect the fungal diversity on the leaves. There was very little overlap between fungi on the climber leaves and those on the support tree. Only four saprobes from B. floribunda were also found on leaves of M. liliifera. We suspect that most of the fungi degrading leaves of B. floribunda were initially endophytes and became active saprobes once leaves started to decay.