Abstract
Fungi are richer in species than are the phanerogams in most Amazonian forest communities. They have been studied from sparse collections since the middle of the 19th, but more specifically and thoroughly only since the middle of the present century. They are extremely interesting from taxonomical and phytogeographical points of view. What had been ignored up till the seventies is their ecological significance in the lowland tropics particularly as mycorrhiza formers and litter decomposers. Thus, G.T. Prance, after giving an outline of the main vegetation types as recognized by him, adds: ‘There is still a lack of adequate data to comprehend the dynamics of the forest, its rapid nutritional cycle, the role of mycorrhiza’ (Prance 1978). A similar suggestion has been made in a recent balanced appraisal of Ludwig’s Jarí project (Fearnside & Rankin 1979) where among other necessary research basic data on the changes of the soil after deforestation and ‘reforestation’ are requested. Such studies must obviously include microbiology of the soils and litter.
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© 1984 Dr. W. Junk Publishers, Dordrecht, Boston, Lancaster
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Singer, R. (1984). The role of fungi in Amazonian forests and in reforestation. In: Sioli, H. (eds) The Amazon. Monographiae Biologicae, vol 56. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-6542-3_23
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-6542-3_23
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