Seasonal and Depth-wise variation in Microfungal Population Numbers in Nameri forest soil, Assam, Northeast India
Description
Soil microflora was isolated by serial dilution plate method using different culture media. The highest fungal population was recorded in spring at the topsoil (1–9 cm), and decreased in other seasons with increasing depths. Twenty-one fungal species belonging to 14 genera were recovered from all depths throughout the seasons with the highest population and relative abundance of Aspergillus flavus (8.4%), followed by Penicillium chrysogenum (8.0%) and lowest by Rhizopus oryzae, R. nodosus and Trichophyton sp. (2.8% each). Phycomycetes (80.1%) were dominant in the study site followed by Zygomycetes (14.1%), Ascomycetes (3.7%) and sterile mycelia (2.1%). Soil pH, moisture content, organic C (Corg), total N concentration (Ntot) and available K had positive correlations (p<0.05 and <0.01) with the fungal colony forming unit. Difference in soil depth and seasonal variation have an influence on the microfungal population numbers as well as their species composition in Nameri forest soil.