Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
species (Tiedje, 1995). Finally, different isolation techniques and sampling designs may
lead to large differences in the estimated species richness of a single site.
The number of fungal species found in the litter of temperate forests may be as high
as 161 species although numbers generally decrease with depth towards the H layer and
A horizon. In contrast, the Actinobacteria tend to have greater species richness in the soil
than in the litter (Table III.6).
Twenty seven species of fungi were identified in the mixed deciduous litter. However,
the number of fungal species found on individual leaves was very low on fresh litters
(0-3 depending on the tree species) but increased to 1-6 after four months of incubation. In
the presence of Collembola, 1 to 7 species had colonised the fresh litter after 2 months
incubation (Proth, 1978). Species richnesses of up to 161 species for a single mixed
deciduous temperate forest have been reported (Novack and Whittingham, 1968).
These results demonstrate the effect of resource quality on the species richness of
microbial communities. The rapid changes in quality that occur during decomposition,
are followed by similar changes in the microbial community, as shown by the marked
successional patterns that occur.
