Fungal communities associated with Eugenia uruguayensis (Myrtaceae) leaf litter in early stages of decomposition in Uruguay

Saprobic communities colonizing freshly fallen leaves of Eugenia uruguayensis were recovered using incubation of leaf fragments in culture medium and incubation of leaves in moist chambers. Data analysis included species-accumulation curves integrating rarefaction and extrapolation, similarity estimation and diversity assessed with Hill numbers. Our results indicated that both techniques were complementary with regard to species composition, recovering 75 different fungal taxa in total. Communities associated with petioles and blades were significantly different, in contrast to what was previously found for the corresponding endophytic communities from E. uruguayensis, suggesting a possible involvement of the abscission process in the community differentiation. One third of the endophytic species were also recovered from freshly fallen leaves, leading us to think they might be completing their life cycle in leaf litter.