Litter thickness and soil pH influence the diversity of saprotrophic fungi in primary forest fragments in the Amazon

Abstract

Plant communities influence the composition of local fungi, and this has been verified in different biomes around the world. The analysis of the litter structure in a forest reserve in the Amazon has shown that floristic diversity and substrate morphology affect fungal diversity at different scales. Our results revealed that the α diversity of the fungi was positively correlated with the substrate quality in the litter, while β diversity showed differences within and among the floristic groups identified in the reserve. In addition to litter morphology, some soil physicochemical variables were considered as predictors, of which only the soil pH affected the fungal richness. Therefore, our results support the hypotheses that: 1) plant identity and substrate deposition time in soil have an effect on microbial communities, and 2) a greater leaf diversity correlates to increased fungal variety.