Diversity and Status of Macrofungi in Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary, India

摘要

Macrofungi are diverse and important components of the forest ecosystem. They have been neglected in any of the biodiversity studies of a given area. They improve soil quality and the stability of the ecosystem and involves in the degradation of forest litter. Some macrofungi are highly beneficial to the human beings in nutrition and Pharmaceutical industries. Studies on the taxonomy and diversity of the same are gaining importance, as many species are becoming extinct and facing threat of extinction because of habitat destruction. The diversity of macrofungi in Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary was investigated from 2006 to 2010 in 9 sampling stations. A total of 90 transects were studied each measuring 50 m x 20 m. The macrofungi were collected and characterized with a systematic methodology. Density, abundance, frequency and diversity indices viz., Shannon and Simpson were calculated annually using standard protocols. A total of 416 species and 97 genera belonging to 46 families were enumerated. Among the collected species Schizophyllum sp. found to be denser (D=265. 66), abundant (Ab =22. 7) and frequency (F=0. 085) followed by Laccaria sp. and Microporus sp. The Shannon diversity index and Simpson index was calculated to be 4. 97 and 0. 17 in the first year (2005-2006) and decreased over years [2006-2007 (H =4.94; D =0. 182), 2007-2008 (H =4.89; D =0. 2), 2008-2009 (H=4.80; D=0.2) and 2009-2010 (H=4.75; D=0.21)]. In 2005-2006, the total number of species was found to be 416 and reduced to 382 taxa during 2009-2010. The cumulative number of species over five years revealed the ecological productivity and biodiversity has been altered with an increased risk of some threatened taxa. Further the investigation on culturing, nutrition and pharmaceutical studies is under progress.