Distribution and Diversity of Fungal Species in and Adjacent to the Los Alamos National Laboratory

Jarmie, Nelson; Balice, Randy; Rogers, Fran

Previously archived information representing 43 sample locations was used to perform a preliminary evaluation of the distributions and diversity of fungal species at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and in adjacent environments. Presence-absence data for 71 species of fungi in five habitats, pifion-juniper, canyon-bottom ponderosa pine, ponderosa pine, canyon-bottom mixed conifer, and mixed conifer were analyzed. The results indicate that even though fungi occur in each of the habitats, fungal species are not distributed evenly among these habitats. The richness of fungal species is greater in the canyon-bottom mixed conifer and mixed conifer habitats than in the pifion-juniper, canyonbottom ponderosa pine or ponderosa pine habitats. All but three of the fungal species were recorded in either the canyon-bottom mixed conifer or the mixed conifer habitats, and all but seven of the fungal species were found in the mixed conifer habitat. In addition, species fidelity increases from the pifion-juniper to the mixed conifer. Five of the species have a high fidelity to the mixed conifer, and 13 species have a high fidelity to the either the canyon-bottom mixed conifer or the mixed conifer habitats. In contrast, only eight fungal species were found in the pifion-juniper habitat, and none of these were found with high fidelity or in high abundance. Finally, only two species of fungi were collected in all five of the habitats.