Taxonomic Dominance and Methodological Biases in Assessing Fungal Diversity in Waterlogged Paddy Soils - A Case Study

Amrita Kumari; Sabita Verma

Taxonomic Dominance and Methodological Biases in Assessing Fungal Diversity in Waterlogged Paddy Soils - A Case Study

Author(s)	Amrita Kumari, Dr. Sabita Verma
Country	India
Abstract	Paddy fields present a highly stressful environment for microorganisms. The soil cycles constantly between dry cracked earth and heavily flooded mud. Fungi play a vital role in breaking down crop waste and recycling nutrients in these fields. Researchers have traditionally used standard agar plating to study these soil communities. This traditional approach comes with significant biological blind spots. This paper presents the culturable fungal profile of agricultural paddy soils in North Bihar. We evaluate the exact methodological biases introduced by these standard laboratory techniques. We collected soil samples across three distinct seasons to track weather impacts. We took dirt from three specific soil depths to measure vertical distribution. We isolated the microscopic organisms using the standard serial dilution method on Potato Dextrose Agar. The laboratory analysis successfully identified twelve distinct fungal genera. Four specific groups completely dominated the local ecosystem. Aspergillus and Penicillium were the most abundant fungi present on the plates. We found significant populations of Fusarium and Trichoderma as well. The spatial data showed that almost all fungal activity happens in the top five centimeters of the soil. The temporal data revealed a massive population spike during the wet monsoon season. The fungal numbers dropped severely during the hot summer drought. These empirical results tell a very specific biological story. They highlight the active aerobic decomposers feeding on leftover rice stubble. We must acknowledge that the serial dilution method creates a strict biological filter. Potato Dextrose Agar heavily favors fast growing saprophytes. The paddy fields spend weeks completely flooded and starved of oxygen. Our aerobic culturing method completely misses the anaerobic fungal community that thrives in that deep waterlogged mud. We missed the complex symbiotic fungi that refuse to grow without a living plant root. The twelve identified genera represent just a small fraction of the true soil microbiome. Traditional culturing provides a clear but extremely narrow window into soil ecology. Future agricultural research in this region requires an updated approach. Scientists must integrate environmental DNA sequencing with these older traditional methods. Using modern genetic tools like ITS metabarcoding will allow us to map the hidden unculturable species. This hybrid approach is essential for capturing the complete biological reality of flooded agricultural ecosystems.
Keywords	Soil mycoflora, Paddy ecosystem, Seasonal variation, Methodological bias, Culturable fungi, Anaerobic fungi, Fungal diversity
Field	Biology > Agriculture / Botany
Published In	Volume 17, Issue 2, July-December 2026
Published On	2026-07-22

View / Download PDF File

About IJAIDR Fees & Payment Current Issue Publication Archive	Submit Research Paper Track Submission Status Publication Guidelines Peer Review & Plagiarism	Join as a Reviewer Editors & Reviewers Get Reviewer Membership Certi.	Website/Journal Policies Usage Policy Content Policies Privacy Policy

Contact Us	Message on WhatsApp	+91-9687-182-185	editor@ijaidr.com

Journal of Advances in Developmental Research

A Widely Indexed Open Access Peer Reviewed Multidisciplinary Bi-monthly Scholarly International Journal

Taxonomic Dominance and Methodological Biases in Assessing Fungal Diversity in Waterlogged Paddy Soils - A Case Study

Share this