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Fungal flora of tropical riverbanks: indicator for quality running water resources

Sacred Groves are forest patches managed informally as a part of religious and cultural tradition, without ample interference from Government and State Forest Departments.1 Studies on sacred groves recently started with pioneer works done.2 India comprises about 50,000 sacred groves and around 2000 sacred groves had been reported from Kerala.3 Number of groves is reducing drastically now days. From 2011 onwards sacred groves in Kerala are diminishing not due to decline in religious belief but due to religious strategies removing greenery and clear the grove for other purpose.3 Literally, sacred groves represent an in situ conservation method of biodiversity in ancient India. Many species which are rare and extinct in other parts of the country are protected in these groves. They are believed to be the treasure house of medicinal plants, rare and endemic plants, as refugee for relic flora and harbor for seed dispersal.4 Groves are vital parts of life support system and justified as ‘lungs’ of the country by Amruthalingam.5 Four major forest types, namely evergreen, semievergreen, moist deciduous and mangrove forests were found in different sacred groves of Kerala by Chandrashekara.6 The general floristic composition and physiognomy of vegetation of the sacred groves are typically like the low level evergreen forest with numerous angiosperms, gymnosperms, bryophytes, pteridophytes, algae and fungi. Floral diversity studies in 577 sacred groves of Kerala by CWRDM7 identified 737 plant species of which 609 were dicotyledons, 122 monocotyledons, 4 pteridophytes and 2 gyymnosperms. Studies in sacred groves of Thrissur district recorded 25 threatened species.8 Studies on herbaceous flora of Iringole kavu reported 68 angeosperms belonged to 28 families and 9 pteridophytes belonged to 5 families.9 Floral survey of Vallikattu kavu in Kozhikode district recorded 245 species of flowering plants belonged to 209 genera and 77 families of which thirty four plants were threatened.10 Survey of lichens in four sacred groves of central Western Ghats recorded 53 species of epiphytic lichen belonging to 30 genera and 15 families.11 Studies on 28 sacred groves of Kerala by Chandrashekara6 identified 670 angiosperm species of which 133 were endemic. The forests of Kerala state is rich in different types of evergreen vegetation and thus provides favorable condition for growth and development of various fungi.12 recorded 1044 taxa of fungi belonging to 414 genera from the state of Kerala. Sankaran et al.,13 recorded 1223 spp. belonging to 464 genera. A documentation made by Maria Florence14 includes a total of 1990 spp. of fungi belonging to 583 genera. The fungal flora of Kerala especially of the Kerala forests remained unexplored except for a few brief surveys carried out by Subramanian & Ramakrishnan,15 Subramanian & Vittal,16 Mani Varghese,17 Hosagouder,18,19 Mohanan,20 etc. Survey of mushrooms flora from Western Ghats were conducted by Thiribhuvanamala et al.21 Marofungal inventory in Western Ghats of Kerala was carried out by Mohanan.22


Introduction
Sacred Groves are forest patches managed informally as a part of religious and cultural tradition, without ample interference from Government and State Forest Departments. 1 Studies on sacred groves recently started with pioneer works done. 2 India comprises about 50,000 sacred groves and around 2000 sacred groves had been reported from Kerala. 3 Number of groves is reducing drastically now days. From 2011 onwards sacred groves in Kerala are diminishing not due to decline in religious belief but due to religious strategies removing greenery and clear the grove for other purpose. 3 Literally, sacred groves represent an in situ conservation method of biodiversity in ancient India. Many species which are rare and extinct in other parts of the country are protected in these groves. They are believed to be the treasure house of medicinal plants, rare and endemic plants, as refugee for relic flora and harbor for seed dispersal. 4 Groves are vital parts of life support system and justified as 'lungs' of the country by Amruthalingam. 5 Four major forest types, namely evergreen, semievergreen, moist deciduous and mangrove forests were found in different sacred groves of Kerala by Chandrashekara. 6 The general floristic composition and physiognomy of vegetation of the sacred groves are typically like the low level evergreen forest with numerous angiosperms, gymnosperms, bryophytes, pteridophytes, algae and fungi. Floral diversity studies in 577 sacred groves of Kerala by CWRDM 7 identified 737 plant species of which 609 were dicotyledons, 122 monocotyledons, 4 pteridophytes and 2 gyymnosperms. Studies in sacred groves of Thrissur district recorded 25 threatened species. 8 Studies on herbaceous flora of Iringole kavu reported 68 angeosperms belonged to 28 families and 9 pteridophytes belonged to 5 families. 9 Floral survey of Vallikattu kavu in Kozhikode district recorded 245 species of flowering plants belonged to 209 genera and 77 families of which thirty four plants were threatened. 10 Survey of lichens in four sacred groves of central Western Ghats recorded 53 species of epiphytic lichen belonging to 30 genera and 15 families. 11 Studies on 28 sacred groves of Kerala by Chandrashekara 6 identified 670 angiosperm species of which 133 were endemic. The forests of Kerala state is rich in different types of evergreen vegetation and thus provides favorable condition for growth and development of various fungi. 12 15 Subramanian & Vittal, 16 Mani Varghese, 17 Hosagouder, 18,19 Mohanan, 20 etc. Survey of mushrooms flora from Western Ghats were conducted by Thiribhuvanamala et al. 21 Marofungal inventory in Western Ghats of Kerala was carried out by Mohanan. 22 Perusal of literature clearly indicates that not much work has been carried out on fungal flora of these regions. Ten such sacred groves are selected from Central Kerala.. Therefore diversity studies and ecological aspects are included. The possibility of finding wood rotting and litter fungi is mainly investigated and taxonomical grouping are also incorporated in the study. The present study has its aim to document the fungal flora in the study sites and to establish the possibilities of conservation of fresh water resources and riverbanks to conserve the biodiversity of different life forms.

Materials and methods
Study area includes ten sacred groves of Central Kerala located near river banks. They are Iringole kavu, Chovvazcha kavu, Koozhipilly kavu, Panichayam kavu, Kuzhupilly kavu), Chakarakattu kavu, Palakkattu kavu, Chorian kavu, Vallikattu kavu and Alpara kavu (Table 1) ( Figure 1). The largest among the study site Iringole kavu (size of 16 Ha.) to the smallest Panichayam kavu (size of 20 cents), all are well protected by religious view as a part of rituals and hence remain as virgin areas for micro and macro fungi. Fungal fruiting bodies were collected from sample plots of one metre square from ten locations at each study sites during summer seasons from 2007-2010 and 2015-2017. Periodic collection of fungi were made from the above ten sacred groves during summer season from February to April. For field collections, vasculum, lens, knife, scissors, tag were used. Most of the host plants were identified in the field itself.
Macro fungal fruit bodies especially of wood rotting fungi were collected as far as possible with the supporting wood. General macro characters of fruit body including colour of different tissues and the type of rot were noted in the field itself. Fruit bodies were wrapped in paper bags and brought to laboratory. Spore prints were taken on micro slides/paper by keeping the fresh fruit body in humid condition. Measurement and detailed observation of fruit body were made in the laboratory and the materials dried in a hot air oven at 70 c. Representative portions of the dried specimens were used for microscopic studies. The rest of the fruit body along with rotten wood were treated with mercuric chloride against mites and moulds and stored with moth balls in paper as voucher specimens. The specimens were brought to the laboratory and infected regions were critically examined using dissection microscope for symptamatology. Tease mounts and scratch mounts were made for microscopic observations. Hand sections were also made. Mounting was done on slide using 5%KOH and lactophenol, as general mounting media. Cotton blue were used for staining. Sections were observed under a research microscope (Olympus trinocular) for studying detailed morphological characters. Measurements of all microscopic structures were taken using micrometer. Drawings were made using a camera lucida (Prism type) attached to the microscope. All the materials collected during this period of investigation were deposited at the Mycological herbarium, Dept of Botany, Union Christian College, Aluva.

Results and discussions
Fungi collected and studied from the present project are classified based on habitat into wood rooting fungi and litter fungi. After critical microscopic observation the materials were assigned to the respective species.

Wood rotting fungi
Eight species of fungi were collected from living, fallen and decaying woods from these sacred groves (

Litter fungi
Twelve species of fungi were collected from fallen, decaying leaves and twigs ( Table 3). All of these fungi belonged to class Duteromycotina and order Moniliales.  28 Torula herbarum was found on a new host, Ervatamia coronaria in Kerala. This species was earlier reported from Malayatoor, Kerala, on dead stems of Ichnocarpus frutescens and from dead stems of a dicot plant at Idamalayar, Kerala, 28 ( Figure  2).

Conclusion
Through the present study the river bank protection is projected to have more importance in protecting the biodiversity especially fungal macro-flora which maybe of various economic interests. Sacred groves from time immemorial were known to be centers of limited human interaction and are treasure house of species diversity. The largest Sacred Grove among the study site Iringole kavu to the smallest Panichayam kavu are well protected by religious view as a part of rituals and hence remain as virgin area for micro and macro fungi. For quality water in the river resources of tropics river bank protection is a must. The present concept may lead to protection of fresh water resources as well as conservation of biodiversity in the future hydro based exploration and utilization.