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Effects of point source atmospheric pollution on fungal communities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2011

M. Wainwright
M. Wainwright
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, U.K.
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Synopsis

While the effects of acid rain on soil biology and chemistry have been widely reported, relatively few studies have appeared on the effects of air pollutants on fungi. Air pollutants are, however, likely to cause both toxic (destructive) and enrichment disturbance effects on fungal populations. Such responses are best seen at sites located close to point source emissions, such as coking works and metal processing and sour gas plants, where pollutant concentrations will be locally high. Toxic disturbance by, for example, heavy metals will generally reduce fungal biomass and species composition leading to the impairment of important processes such as litter decomposition. Enrichment disturbance effects of air pollutants on fungal communities are less easily recognised, but occur when a pollutant, e.g. a phenol, acts as a nutrient, thereby leading to an increase in the total, or more unusually a specific part of, the fungal community. This paper reviews the literature on point source emission effects on fungi, with particular emphasis being given to the pitfalls encountered in such studies.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Section B: Biological Sciences , Volume 94: Fungi and Ecological Disturbance , 1988 , pp. 97 - 104
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1988

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