Fungal species isolated from the senescent leaves of Neyraudia arundinacea growing on areas disturbed by iron-ore mining activities

The present investigation is an attempt to study the fungal population isolated from the senescent leaves of Neyraudia arundinacea growing on the areas disturbed by the activities of iron-ore mining as fungi play an important role in the recycling process in this manmade habitat. Four locations were chosen for the study: the old iron-ore dumps, the new dumps, the iron-ore tailings, and an unaffected site. Senescent leaves of N. arundinacea and the associated soil samples were collected from the four sites for analyzing the contents in different metals (Ca, Mg, K, Na, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, and Pb). Fungi were also isolated from the leaves using malt extract agar and Czapek Dox agar. The soil and vegetation collected from the disturbed areas contained a higher level of metals when compared with the unaffected site. N. arundinacea growing on the affected areas had a smaller number of fungal species and total number of colonies with the exception of those growing on the old iron-ore dumps. They also supported a different group of fungal flora when compared with those isolated from the plants growing on the control site. Copyright © 1980 Published by Elsevier Inc.