Fungal communities in the soils of early medieval settlements in the taiga zone

The difference between the mycobiota in anthropogenically transformed soils of the settlements of the 9th–14th centuries and in the background zonal Podzols and umbric Albeluvisols of the middle and southern taiga subzones in the European part of Russia is demonstrated. The mycological specificity of anthropogenically transformed soils with a cultural layer (CL) in comparison with the background soils is similar for all the studied objects. Its characteristic features are as follows: (1) the redistribution of the fungal biomass in the profile of anthropogenically transformed soils in comparison with zonal soils, (2) the lower amount of fungal mycelium in the CL with the accumulation of fungal spores in this layer, (3) the increased species diversity of fungal communities in the CL manifested by the greater morphological diversity of the spore pool and by the greater diversity of the fungi grown on nutrient media, (4) the change in the composition and species structure of fungal communities in the CL, (5) the replacement of dominant species typical of the zonal soils by eurytopic species, and (6) the significant difference between the fungal communities in the CL and in the above-and lower-lying horizons and buried soils of the same age. Most of the mycological properties of the soils of ancient settlements are also typical of modern urban soils. Thus, the mycological properties of soils can be considered informative carriers of soil memory about ancient anthropogenic impacts.