The relative abundance of Mortierella Coemans spp. in acid heath soils

Abstract

The fungal population of two podzolized heath soils, one with and one without a hardpan, is characterized by a marked contrast in the species distribution of the genus Mortierella Linnemann.The dominant species in the hardpan soil is Mortierella ramanrniana (Möll) Linnemann, but when the pan is lacking it is replaced by Mortierella nana Linnemann. This is not a local effect, for an analysis of results from comparable English soils gives a parallel result. It can be stated that the dominance of one or other of these species is indicative of certain soil types.