Diversity and Ecology of Soil Algae in Broadleaf Sacred Grove and Pine forest in East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya

Abstract

In the present study, soil algal community inhabiting in two different forest types i.e., pine forest and subtropical broadleaf forest (Mawphlang sacred grove) in East Khasi Hills District of Meghalaya have been investigated. Light availability to the forest floor and soil physico-chemical parameters were examined. A total of 124 taxa of soil algae were recorded from both the forests. Members from Chlorophyta, Xanthophyceae, Eustigmatophyceae contributed the most (72%-80%). Mawphlang sacred grove was characterised by more abundance of Cyanobacteria (21%) and less diatoms (2%), while in pine forest diatoms abundance was high (20%) and less Cyanobacteria (13%). Algal species composition differed significantly between the two forest types. Correlation between species diversity with light and soil characteristics indicated that vegetation along with pH, moisture content, organic carbon and nitrogen played important role in determining the composition of algal community. lkjka 'k orZ eku v/;;u es a ] es ?kky; ds iw ohZ [kklh ftys es a phM+ ou o miks ".kdfVca /kh; pkS M+ s IkRrs okys nks iFkd ouks a es a ¼ekoQyka x ifo= ou½ eǹk 'kS oky oxZ dh foos puk dh xbZ gS A ou lrg es a iz dk'k miyC/krk ,oa eǹk HkkS frd jlk;u iS jkehVj dh ta kp dj yh xbZ gS A nks uks a ouks a ls eǹk 'kS oky dk dq y 124 VS Dlk vfHkys f[kr fd;k x;k gS A Dyks jks QkbVk] tS a Fkks Qkblh] b;w LVhXekes Vks Qk;lh vo;o dk lokZ f/kd ek=k ¼72%-80% ½ jgkA ekoQyks a x ds ifo= ou es a lkbuks cs DVs fj;k dk vf/kd ek=k ¼21%½ ,oa Mk;Ve dh de ek=k ¼2%½ tka ph xbZ A tcfd phM+ ds ouks a es a Mk;Ve dh vf/kd ek=k ¼20%½ ,oa lkbuks cs DVs fj;k dh de ek=k ¼13%½ tka ph xbZ A nks ouks a ds iz dkj es a 'kS oky tkfr dk la ;ks tu dkQh vyx gS A iz dk'k vkS j eǹk dh fo'ks "krkvks a ds lkFk tkfr;ks a dh fofo/krk ds chp la ca / kks a ls ba fxr feyrk gS fd ih,p-vknz Z rk dh ek=k] tS fod dkcZ u ,oa ukbVª ks tu ds lkFk ouLifr us 'kS oky oxZ ds la ;ks tu es s a egRoiw .kZ Hkw fedk fuHkkbZ gS A es ?kky; dh iw ohZ [kklh igkfM+ ;k¡ ds cz kW MyhQ ifo= ou vkS j phM+ ouks a es a eǹk 'kS oky dh fofo/krk vkS j ikfjfLFkfrdh lh-,e-fMjcks UkZ ,oa ikfi;k jkekuq te

Ecological determinants of algal communities of different types of ecosystems

“…Cyanobacteria in forest algal communities range from 2.7% to 15.7% of the total number of species. The data obtained are generally consistent with the results of other researchers of algae in forest ecosystems, which indicate that the main forest communities of algae are Chlorophyta and Xanthophyceae [47][48][49]. It should be noted that the role of green algae and Xanthophyceae in the formation of communities differs in various types of forest.…”

Seasonal variation in soil algal community structure in different forest plantations in subtropic China

“…Both season and forest types had significant effects on soil algae in our study area (Dirborne and Ramanujam, 2017). Liquidambar formosana plantation has highest algal diversity due to the influence of light, which is consistent with Neustupa and Skaloud (Neustupa and S ̌kaloud, 2008).…”

“…On the other hand, the change of temperature would affect the dynamics of soil physicochemical properties and the nutrient cycles, which indirectly affects the growth and reproduction of algae. Many environmental factors affect the diversity of soil algal community, such as moisture content, pH, and NH 4 + −N (Zancan et al, 2006;Dirborne and Ramanujam, 2017;Agha et al, 2020). In the present study, spearman's correlation analyses showed that soil moisture content was significantly and positively correlated with observed species and Shannon index (p< 0.01).…”

“…The diversity and distribution of soil algae are regulated by the interaction of various environmental variables, and different environmental variables have different effects on the algal community structure. Dirborne (Dirborne and Ramanujam, 2017) found that the vegetation, pH, moisture content, organic carbon and nitrogen were the main factors affecting the algal community in broadleaf sacred grove and pine forest in East Khasi Hills.…”

“…Novakovskaya (Novakovskaya et al, 2020) pointed that taxonomic diversity of algae decreases along the altitude gradient from mountain meadow to mountain tundra. Dirborne (Dirborne and Ramanujam, 2017) found that soil in undisturbed broadleaf forest supported more diverse algal species than pine forest. Such studies facilitate the understanding of the responses of algal communities to environmental changes.…”