Biodiversity and composition of post-fire soil microfungal communities of a Mediterranean maquis (southern Italy)

Fire is a key agent of disturbance in the Mediterranean environment. In controlled or uncontrolled burning, it can lead to a modification of the composition and functioning of microfungal community and to a new situation in competitive advantage of different parts of community. The focus of the present study was to determine how abundance and species density of soil microfungal community were affected by two different intensities of burnings in Mediterranean maquis, ("Castel Volturno" Nature Reserve, Italy). The results so far achieved have showed that, after burning, the abundance of total mycoflora, xerotolerant and heat stimulated component of community were particularly reduced by high intensity fire in comparison with the controls, resulting however the fire as a disturbance superimposed to the soil water stress in the dry season. Successively, during autumn and spring, fire resulted to have a stimulation effect on the abundance of these same components which considerably and significantly increased.