Unravelling soil fungal communities from different Mediterranean land-use backgrounds.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Fungi strongly influence ecosystem structure and functioning, playing a key role in many ecological services as decomposers, plant mutualists and pathogens. The Mediterranean area is a biodiversity hotspot that is increasingly threatened by intense land use. Therefore, to achieve a balance between conservation and human development, a better understanding of the impact of land use on the underlying fungal communities is needed.

Methodology/principal findings

We used parallel pyrosequencing of the nuclear ribosomal its regions to characterize the fungal communities in five soils subjected to different anthropogenic impact in a typical mediterranean landscape: a natural cork-oak forest, a pasture, a managed meadow, and two vineyards. Marked differences in the distri

SUBMITTER: Orgiazzi A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3335027 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature