Pedologic characteristics and fungi community in unmanaged cork oak forest soil of two Mediterranean regions: Sardinia and Tunisia

Abstract: The soil of unmanaged cork oak forests located both in Sardinia and in Tunisia was characterized. Soil samples were collected in both areas at the depth of 0-10 cm, to determine the pedologic characteristics [humidity, pH, total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (N) and texture] and the fungi community. The data were tested for significance with analysis of variance (ANOVA) techniques. The soils of the two studied areas were significantly different as far as pH, TOC % and Sand content are concerned. The texture of Sardinia soil was mainly classified as “sandy-loam” and the Tunisian ones as “sandy-clay-loam”. Concerning the fungi community in Sardinia soil, the most frequent fungi genera were Trichoderma, Penicillium and Paecilomyces. In Tunisian soil the dominant genus was Penicillium followed by the genus Aspergillus.