Diversity of soil fungi from mangroves of Mahanadi delta, Orissa, India

Abstract

Mangrove ecosystem is well known for the productivity. Fungi play an important role in the nutritive cycle and support the mangrove ecosystem. In the present investigation, an attempt has been made to isolate, characterize and identify some of the soil fungi from mangroves of Mahanadi delta, Orissa. They are categorized into common (10.75 %), frequent (9.28 %), occasional (6.63 %) and rare (0.38 %). Among the 22 fungal species identified, Fusarium solani was recorded as common, Penicillium chrysogenum, Penicillium citrinum, Penicillium red sclerotium as frequent, Aspergillus oryzae, Aspergillus niser, Aspergillus flavus, and Aspergillus albus as occasionally and the remaining species are rare. The identification of 22 soil fungal species from mangroves of Mahanadi delta is the first report form this ecosystem. Key words: Fungi, Mangrove ecosystem, Ascomycetes and Actinobacteria.