Composition and dynamics of the fungal population in a typical Phaeozem luvico in Argentina

Abstract

The decomposer soil community maintains the arable soil ecosystem for the nutrient turnover. Here, we studied the dynamics of the soil fungal populations in a typical Phaeozem luvico in Argentina and related it to the management practices. Soil samples (at 0–10 cm depth) were collected from a field cultivated with wheat, at different sampling times: at post-harvest, before sowing, and at tillering. The relative abundance of individuals in the population on Nash Snyder and Oxgall agar media was assessed as colony forming units (CFU). The fungal population was classified by numerical taxonomy at the different sampling times. The highest values of CFU g−1 of soil were found at post-harvest under reduced tillage and differed significantly from those at conventional tillage. The genera Trichoderma, Fusarium, Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Fusarium oxysporum were present in the largest number of samples and discriminated the fungal community between times. This discrimination could be related to alterations in the availability of carbon sources during stubble degradation at post-harvest and before sowing and were of lesser importance at tillering.