Soil crust microfungi along a southward rainfall gradient in desert ecosystems

We examined mycobiota structure, diversity level, and density of microfungal isolates in the biological soil crusts (BSC) and non-crusted soil of the northern and central Negev desert in 10 locations along a southward rainfall gradient. A total of 87 species from 49 genera were isolated. The mycobiota of BSC (80 species) was characterized by dominance of melanin-containing fungi, the remarkable contribution of sexual ascomycete species, and low abundance of the genera Penicillium and Aspergillus. Species richness and the contribution of dark-colored fungi with large, multicellular spores negatively and significantly correlated with rainfall. The comparison with mycobiota of the non-crusted soil showed that in BSC...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation, Journal Citation; Tags: European Journal of Soil Biology, biological soil crusts, microfungi, mycobiota structure, rainfall gradient