Diversity of filamentous fungi isolated from the soil in the semiarid area, Pernambuco, Brazil

The Caatinga (dryland) biome of Brazil is experiencing accentuated desertification due to deforestation and inappropriate uses of its natural resources. Studies examining the diversity of filamentous fungi in Caatinga soils are still scarce and the present work was designed to isolate and identify the soil fungi of this biome in the semiarid region of northeastern Brazil. Soil samples were taken at five random sites during the dry and rainy seasons from the soil surface and at depths of 20 cm. A total of 85 species of filamentous fungi were identified, including species of anamorphic fungi (71 species), Zygomycota (8) and Ascomycota (6). The most abundant genera were Aspergillus (28) and Penicillium (18). No significant differences were observed in the numbers of colony forming units in samples taken during either the rainy or dry seasons, or from surface or subsurface soils. Most of the fungi species isolated from caatinga soils were classified as rare. Our results indicate that anamorphic fungi dominate the soil mycobiota in the Brazilian semiarid region, with species of Aspergillus and Penicillium being most common.