Fungal succession on plant debris in three humid forests enclaves in the Caatinga biome of Brazil

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(Fungal succession on plant debris in three humid forests enclaves in the Caatinga biome of Brazil.) Fungal succession (sequential occurrence of sporulating fungi) was investigated on plant debris (leaves, twigs, and barks). The material was collected in three humid forests enclaves in the Caatinga biome, northeast of Brazil, and the samples were incubated in moist chambers to verify the occurrence of conidial fungi in four incubations periods: 1 (up to 10 days of incubation), 2 (11–20 days), 3 (21–30), and 4 (31–40 days). A total of 213 taxa were recorded. The species richness was similar in the three enclaves studied. Only two species occurred in all periods and more than one substrate: Chloridium virescens ((Pers.) W. Gams & Hol.-Jech) occurred in the leaves and barks and Ellisembia adscendens ((Berk.) Subram.) occurred in the barks and twigs. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) indicates that substrate was the most determinant factor for the fungal community composition compared with area and incubation periods. The result of analysis of similarity demonstrates that the groups formed in NMDS were significant. The succession on decaying leaves demonstrated the highest richness among the substrates studied. In the leaves, the major richness values were detected in the P1 period, while in the barks and twigs, the major richness values were detected in the P1 and P2 periods. Species richness decreases after 20 incubation days in all substrates. Cluster analysis indicates the formation of communities relating to incubation periods in the leaves. The results of this study demonstrated a fungal succession on plant debris during the incubation period.