XVI International Botanical Congess

In an attempt to establish the impact of organic pollution on fungal diversity, woody baits were submerged at two sites of a stream, which was unpolluted upstream and polluted downstream. The effects of copper (heavy metal) and glyphosate (herbicide) on the biomass production of several strains of fungi, isolated from submerged wood from streams in Hong Kong, were also investigated in liquid medium. The fungal species richness and abundance were higher downstream, where there was higher nutrient level. The fungal community downstream was dominated by Cercophora sp.. Copper had an inhibitory effect on biomass production with 50% growth at about 50 ppm and total inhibition at about 200 ppm. Comparatively glyphosate inhibited biomass production up to 100 ppm, and totally inhibited at 500 ppm. Although the sensitivities of fungi towards the chemicals differed, Camposporium sp. was the most resistant among all tested species.