Abstract
Prescribed burning, with different objectives of management and handling, has been applied more frequently in protected areas. In order to understand the effect of fire, this work aimed to assess the abundance and diversity of fungal microorganisms in response to the use of fire and forest fires. Soil samples before and after burning were collected, with fungi isolated by the plating method, then quantified by counting the collony-forming units (CFU g-1) and identified at the gender level. The average CFU g-1 did not present a significant difference between the evaluated fire regimes, however, there was a significant difference (p<0.05) for diversity, and the two years of fires caused less gender diversity. The genders Aspergillus and Penicillium were present in all sampled areas, with higher CFU g-1 values, whereas genders Mucor and Rhizopus exhibited the lowest values. The average colony-forming unit (CFU g-1) and diversity before and after prescribed burning differed statistically (p < 0.05), while the average CFU g-1 had a reduction and diversity showed an increase after the passage of fire in all areas evaluated. The greatest reduction in the average CFU g-1 occurred for the month of July. Pearson’s correlation coefficient values obtained demonstrated a significant negative correlation between average CFU g-1, diversity and temperature (r = 0.70; r = -0.98 and p < 0.05). The diversity variable presented negative correlation with temperature, precipitation and relative humidity (r = -0.56; r = -0.86 and p < 0.05), thus indicating that there was a direct influence of these variables on the abundance and diversity of soil fungi. The soil parameters (aluminum, exchangeable acidity, cation EXCHANGE capacity, calcium and magnesium, phosphorus, pH, base and aluminum saturation) have a direct relation with the soil fungi.
Keywords:
Fungal microbiota; Prescribed burning; Brazilian savanna
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