The Soil Microfungi of Open Bogs and Conifer Swamps in Wisconsin

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Abstract
The soil microfungi in five northern Wisconsin open bogs and ten conifer swamps have been surveyed. Two hundred isolates from eight sites in each community were identified or characterized and frequencies for all entities were calculated. The number of entities per community ranged from 10 to 68, and the numbers of entities per unit (1000 isolates) were 108 (open bogs), 104 (Picea-Larix swamps), and 181 (Thuja-Abies swamps). Only 5–9 species in each unit had average frequencies of 30% or higher. Mycelia Sterilia 3157, Eurotiaceae gen. n.? 4084, Penicillium odoratum, Penicillium (Paecilomyces ?) sp. 3908, and Geotrichum candidum are prevalent in open bogs; Mortierella vinacea III, Periconia sp. 3284, Penicillium odoratum, Cryptococcus laurentii, Oidiodendron flavum variant, and one unidentified yeast in Picea-Larix swamps; and Torulopsis aeria, Cryptococcus laurentii, Trichoderma viride, T. album, and one unidentified yeast in Thuja-Abies swamps. In the populations as a whole, Ascomycetes, yeasts, Dematiaceae, and Mortierella species were common, whereas Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Sphaeropsidales were rare. Approximately one-half of the identified species appear to be absent or rare in mineral soils, but several are well-known wood, wood-pulp, or litter forms. Species composition in the microfungal communities is correlated with species composition and maturity in the overlying higher plant community.