Abundance, diversity, viability, and factorial ecology of fungi in peatbogs

This review presents an analysis of the results of mycological investigations of peat obtained by the authors and other Russian and foreign scientists. High-moor peat, unlike low-moor peat, is shown to contain great reserves of fungal biomass mainly represented by mycelium. The viability of the mycelium and spores is high in the upper peat horizons and does not exceed 50% in the lower ones. In high-moor peat, fungi that are capable of destroying the complex structural polymers composing up to 50% of the peat rarely occur. The analysis of the factors limiting the activity of fungi in the high-moor peatbogs showed that, in the upper layers, the main factor was the strength of the sphagnum cellular walls. In the lower layers, the significant oxygen deficit and the accumulation of sphagnans, sphagnols, phenol-containing compounds, and antioxidants that block the activity of hydrolytic and oxidizing enzymes are of great importance.