Investigation on the Effects of Soil Quality on the Fungal Diversity

of Pyrenomycetes in the Amazon Forest

A SYNTHESIS PAPER

Presented to
The Faculty of Grade 11
SPECIALIZATION YEARS PROGRAM
Curriculum and Instruction Division
Philippine Science High School – Caraga Region Campus
Butuan City

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Core Subject

BIOLOGY 3 (L2) EXPLORING BIODIVERSITY

JOSH BRENT N. VILLOCIDO

 December 2019
MAIN REFERENCES

 (1) Frąc M., Hannula S. E., Bełka M., Jędryczka M. 2018. Fungal Biodiversity and
Their Role in Soil Health. Published online. Poland. No Page
o [1] Institute of Agrophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Lublin, Poland [2]
Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Wageningen, Netherlands [3] Department of
Forest Pathology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Poznań, Poland [4]
Institute of Plant Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznań, Poland

 (2) Reid W. V., Mooney H. A., Cropper A., Capistrano D., Carpenter S. R., Chopra K.,
Dasgupta P., Dietz T., Duraiappah A. K., Hassan R., Kasperson R., Leemans R., May
R. M., McMichael T., et al. 2005. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Ecosystems and
Human Well-being: Synthesis. Island Press, Washington, DC. United States of
America.
o Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Italy Institute of
Economic Growth, India International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
(CIMMYT), Mexico (until 2002) Meridian Institute, United States National
Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Netherlands (until mid-
2004) Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE), France
UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre, United Kingdom University of
Pretoria, South Africa University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States World
Resources Institute (WRI), United States WorldFish Center, Malaysia

 (3) Truszkowska W., Chlebicki A. 1983. Pyrenomycetes from the forest communities
of the hills of Strzelin. Poland. P. 150-162
o W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences · Department of
Mycology
 ABSTRACT
Villocido, Josh Brent N. 2019. Investigation on the Effects of Soil Quality on the Fungal
Diversity of Pyrenomycetes in the Amazon Forest

Pyrenomycetes are fungi with perithecia, small flask-shaped fruit-bodies that contain
asci and they constitute a large part of the sac-fungi or Ascomycota. The Mushrooms and Fungi
from the Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador are essential functional components of the Amazonian
ecosystem as decomposers, symbionts, and pathogens and they represent one of the most
biodiverse groups of organisms on earth. A major part of the global but unknown fungal
biodiversity is assumed to occur in tropical regions, where the diversity of fungi may be higher
than in temperate regions, because of more favorable environmental conditions throughout the
year, a higher diversity of vascular plants that create niches and microhabitats for fungi, and
the presence of many ecotones. Biodiversity is the variability among living organisms from all
sources, including terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological
complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species, and
of ecosystems. Soil health, and the closely related terms of soil quality and fertility, is
considered as one of the most important characteristics of soil ecosystems. All soils can be
described using physical, chemical, and biological properties, but adaptation to environmental
changes, driven by the processes of natural selection, are unique to the latter one.

Keywords: Pyrenomycetes, Ecotones, Biodiversity, Soil Health, Amazon Forest

 INTRODUCTION

Measurements of biodiversity seldom capture all its dimensions, and the most common

measure—species richness—is no exception (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005).

While this can serve as a valuable surrogate measure for other dimensions that are difficult to

quantify, there are several limitations associated with an emphasis on species (Millennium

Ecosystem Assessment, 2005). First, what constitutes a species is not often well define;

Second, although native species richness and ecosystem functioning correlate well, there is

considerable variability surrounding this relationship; Third, species may be taxonomically

similar (in the same genus) but ecologically quite distinct; Fourth, species vary extraordinarily

in abundance; for most biological communities, only a few are dominant, while many are rare

(Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005).

Simply counting the number of species in an ecosystem does not take into consideration

how variable each species might be or its contribution to ecosystem properties (Millennium

Ecosystem Assessment, 2005). For every species, several properties other than its taxonomy

are more valuable for assessment and monitoring (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005).

These properties include measures of genetic and ecological variability, distribution and its role

in ecosystem processes, dynamics, trophic position, and functional traits (Millennium

Ecosystem Assessment, 2005).

Fungi are essential components of all terrestrial ecosystems. They contribute to the

function of healthy forest ecosystems by forming mutualistic, symbiotic associations with

plants, decomposing organic matter, contributing to nutrient cycling, providing food for

animals, and creating habitat diversity for many forest organisms (Castellano et al. 1999).

Macro-fungi are the primary focus of this work. This group consists of mushrooms, sequestrate

(i.e., truffles), shelf, coral, teeth, club and cup fungi forms (Castellano et al. 1999). Sequestrate
fungi depend on animals to disperse their spores and are an important wildlife food (Flaherty

et al. 2010).

The Mushrooms and Fungi from the Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador are

essential functional components of the Amazonian ecosystem as decomposers, symbionts, and

pathogens and they represent one of the most biodiverse groups of organisms on earth

(Shiripuno Amazon Lodge, 2007). The diversity of macrofungi in tropical forests showed that

the highest diversity in the Neotropics occurred in the Amazon Basin with Agaricomycetes,

Pyrenomycetes, Xylariaceous and Hyphomycetous fungi being most species-rich (Shiripuno

Amazon Lodge, 2007). The ecological interaction of macrofungi with other organisms in these

forests is poorly understood due to the largely unexplored, but likely huge, fungal diversity, as

well as the cryptic and ephemeral nature of many fungal species (Shiripuno Amazon Lodge,

2007). The Amazon Basin is the perfect location if you would like to become a Fungi, the

constant humidity combine with heat is the perfect combination for fungi to diversity in the

Amazon Basin (Shiripuno Amazon Lodge, 2007). Pyrenomycetes are fungi with perithecia,

small flask-shaped fruit-bodies that contain asci and they constitute a large part of the sac-fungi

or Ascomycota (Björn Nordén, 2015).

 MAIN BODY/DISCUSSION

Fungal Composition Fungal Function/Reaction Reference

Winder and
Armillaria Pathogen of trees Shamoun
(2006)
Walekin et al
Phellinus
(2014)
Cronartium

Arceuthobium
Clonostachys Antagonistic microbes suppressing soil-borne
Pal et al (2006)
candelabrum plant pathogens
Malecka et al
Geomyces pannorum
(2015)
Penicillium adametzii

P. commune

P. daleae

P. janczewskii

Trichoderma
Ectomycorrhizal mutualists which protect plant Rillig and
Basidiomycota families such as Pinaceae, Fabaceae, Mummey (2006)
Betulaceae, and Fagaceae
Phosri et al
Ascomycota
(2002)
Macrofungi Biosorbents of toxic metals and compounds Baldrian (2003)

Tremellomycetes The dominant fungal class in forest soil Liu et al (2015)

Dothideomycetes
Table 1

Knowledge of the soil chemical and physical properties has always been of interest to

foresters to evaluate the capacity of sites and to increase forest productivity (Schoenholtz et al.,
2000). Forest soils (including humus, litter, and coarse woody debris) are an important

reservoir of microorganisms and soil biota that in turn influence carbon storage, soil structure,

fertility, productivity, and plant/tree growth.

Ectomycorrhizal associations are created by a specific group of plant families that

includes the Pinaceae, Fabaceae, Betulaceae, and Fagaceae (Phosri et al., 2012). The results of

research obtained by Högberg and Högberg (2002), indicate a significant contribution by

ectomycorrhizal mycelium to forest soil microbial biomass and by ectomycorrhizal roots to the

production of extractable dissolved organic carbon, which is a carbon source for other

microbes.

During the processes of thinning, the transfer of nutrients from aboveground biomass

to forest soil takes place (Tian et al., 2010). A higher concentration of nutrients comes from

the green litter of thinned trees than litter returned to the forest floor after senescence (Girisha

et al., 2003) or from the woody residue left on the ground after harvesting (Cookson et al.,

2008). Consequently, the quality and quantity of organic substrates presented to the soil fungal

community by thinned and non-thinned forests may vary to a great extent. The community of

soil microorganisms depends highly on organic matter as it provides a suitable environment

and energy sources for them that are critical to maintain the nutritional quality and water-

retaining capacity of forest soils (Jiménez-Morillo et al., 2016). Soil organic matter is of key

relevance in maintaining soil resistance and stability, although it is uncertain how deterioration

of soil properties and changes in fungal communities affect the functional stability of soils.

Degradation of soil properties followed by deforestation may lead to decreases in soil fungal

diversity and functional stability (Chaer et al., 2009).

In practice, however, variability, dynamics, trophic position, and functional attributes

of many species are poorly known (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005). Thus, it is both
necessary and useful to use surrogate, proxy, or indicator measures based on the taxonomy or

genetic information (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005). Important attributes missed

by species or taxon-based measures of diversity include:

abundance—how much there is of any one type. For many provisioning services (such

as food, fresh water, fiber), abundance matters more than the presence of a range of genetic

varieties, species, or ecosystem types (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005).

variation—the number of different types over space and time. For understanding

population persistence, the number of different varieties or races in a species or variation in

genetic composition among individuals in a population provide more insight than species

richness (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005).

distribution—where quantity or variation in biodiversity occurs. For many purposes,

distribution and quantity are closely related and are therefore generally treated together under

the heading of quantity. However, quantity may not always be sufficient for services: the

location, and in particular its availability to the people that need it, will frequently be more

critical than the absolute volume or biomass of a component of biodiversity. Finally, the

importance of variability and quantity varies, depending on the level of biodiversity measured

(Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005) (see Table 2).

Level Importance of Variability Importance of Quantity and Distribution

Genes adaptive variability for production local resistance and resilience

and resilience to environmental

change, pathogens, and so on

Populations different populations retain local local provisioning and regulating

adaptation services, food, fresh water

 Species the ultimate reservoir of adaptive community and ecosystem interactions

variability, representing option are enabled through the co-occurrence of

values species

Ecosystems different ecosystems deliver a the quantity and quality of service

diversity of roles delivery depend on distribution and

location

Table 2

Pyrenomycetes are ascomycetes with perithecia; pear-shaped fruitbodies usually

smaller than 1 mm with an apical pore. Many pyrenomycetes also have a stroma, a much larger

structure embedding the perithecia in fungal tissue. In a narrow sense pyrenomycetes

encompass the class Sordariomycetes (Björn Nordén, 2015). The sexual spores are produced

in perithecia embedded in the stroma. The openings (ostioles) of the perithecia are placed on

top of small papilla which protrude from the surface (Björn Nordén, 2015). In this and many

other species the contours of the perithecia are partly visible on the surface but other species

have a completely flat upper surface, only penetrated by the small ostioles (Björn Nordén,

2015).

In Xylaria hypoxylon the asexual stage is formed on the upper part of young stromata

that become white and dusty from asexual spores (conidia). Later perithecia are formed in the

same stromata and the top part partly withers away (Björn Nordén, 2015). Annulohypoxylon

multiforme has a stroma with black interior composed of only fungal hyphae, whilst many

other species have a stroma (also termed pseudostroma) that is a mixture of fungal cells

(hyphae) and wood cells (Björn Nordén, 2015). Cosmospora episphaeria is an example of a

species without a stroma (with free perithecia). The perithecia are red and has a soft wall that

tends to collapse from the sides when dried. It grows on top of old stromatic pyrenomycetes,

while many other species with free perithecia are saprobic on dead wood or grow on other
substrata (Björn Nordén, 2015). Pseudohalonectria lutea has a long neck on top of the

immersed perithecium, which points up from the substratum. The ostiole is placed on top of

the long perithecial neck. P. lutea grows on submerged dead wood in streams and brooks (Björn

Nordén, 2015). In many species the perithecia are aggregated, and a special case of aggregation

named after the genus Valsa is called valsoid configuration. The perithecia have long necks

and the ostioles converge in the middle, often on a small disk composed of fungal cells (Björn

Nordén, 2015).

Figure 1: Annulohypoxylon multiforme. https://hiveminer.com/Tags/fungi%2Cpyrenomycetes

 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

Soil health conditions have a tremendous impact on environmental sustainability

including sustainability in agriculture, horticulture, and forestry. Moreover, soil health is

directly connected with the production of healthy food which impacts public and animal health.

More research is required to find the best way to maintain fungal biodiversity in soil, taking

into consideration fungal functions and ecosystem services, including disease control,

contamination detection, and bioremediation. Having the right tools and being able to both

identify species and characterize their role in the environment is important. The ability to

compare functional structures between ecosystems and predict responses to environmental

changes and interventions would be a useful advance.

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