industrial activities than most others in the state. In addition, 

 its associated estuary system is under intensive investigation by 

 a number of biologists. 



Total populations of soil fungi per gram fresh weight and dry 

 weight of soil were highest in the Spartina debris zone during 

 November and March sampling periods. Although it was not measured, 

 the dark color of the soil in this zone suggested it contained a 

 higher organic matter content than surrounding soils. November tall 

 Spartina and dwarf Spartina populations, per gram of fresh soil, were 

 much lower than those in the Spartina debris and Juncus zones. 

 However, tall Spartina and dwarf Spartina zone populations per 

 gram dry soil were near those of the Juncus zone. In March, 

 populations per gram dry soil in the wet end of the marsh were much 

 lower than either the Spartina debris or Juncus zones. Salicornia 

 zone populations per gram fresh and dry soil were lowest during 

 both sample periods. (G.S.) 



Keywords: soil fungus, salt marshes, marsh grasses. South Carolina 



III-C-7 



Newell, S.Y. 1973. Succession and role of fungi in the degradation 



of red mangrove seedlings. Pages 467-480 i_n L.H. Stevenson and R.R. Colwell 

 eds., Estuarine microbial ecology. University of South Carolina Press, 

 Columbia. 



The paper deals with the study of the fungal populations involved 

 in the energy turnover of the seedling segment of Rhizophora production. 

 Fell and Master showed that the red mangrove, Rhizophora mangle , 

 is an extremely important contributor to the productivity of south 

 Florida estuarine waters; a constant flow of energy passes from 

 the red mangrove plants to the estuarine ecosystem via the vast 

 amounts of organic matter cast off by the plants. Microbial mediators 

 convert this detritus into nutrient matter utilizable by small 

 macroorganisms at the base of the food web. In the case of Rhizophora 

 leaf and twig materials, this conversion is well documented. The 

 production of the viviparous seedlings and the contribution of this 

 production to the estuarine ecosystem as nutritive biomass have 

 been ignored. 



However, by combining previous data for mean density of mature Rhizo- 

 phora trees per unit area, and for production of seedings per adult tree 

 per producing season with data on average seedlings mass (6.5g) gathered 

 during the present study, a figure for seedling biomass production per unit 

 area (7.9 metric ton/acre/summer season) is obtained. This figure is twice 

 that for leaf and twig debris (3.6 metric ton/acre/yr). The great 

 majority of the seedlings fail to take root, and the number of 

 seedlings set adrift in southeastern Florida coastal waters has been 

 estimated to run into the millions. These estimates suggest that 



106 



