University of Otago | Department of Botany | Research | Mycology

Fungal diversity in canopy soil

This page provides brief details of our research project based in New Zealand's West Coast and Fiordland.

Above: Rob Daly climbs a kahikatea tree to collect 'canopy duff' samples on West Coast of New Zealand. Samples were collected from over 20 metres above the ground.

Introduction

We are studying the fungal diversity in the "duff" (canopy soil) that develops in the canopy of large Nothofagus (southern beech) and Dacrycarpus dacrydioides (kahikatea) trees in Fiordland and the West Coast of New Zealand.

Epiphytic communities on New Zealand trees in this World Heritage Area are amongst the most diverse in the world. We are using molecular methods to identify fungal DNA in extracts of canopy soil.

Sadly, an important member of our team, Rob Daly, was killed on January 29th 2005. More details about Rob are here.

Above: A silver beech (Nothofagus menziesii) tree with a heavy load of epiphytes. The pendulous leaves in the foreground are rimu (Dacrydium cupressinum).

Personnel

Suzy Draffin [web]	University of Otago
Rob Daly [web]	University of Otago
Dr David Orlovich [web]	University of Otago
Prof. Steve Stephenson [web]	University of Arkansas

Funding

This is part of a larger project studying microbial diversity in canopy soils headed by Prof. Steve Stephenson (University of Arkansas), and is funded by the National Science Foundation (USA).

Photo gallery

Above. The researchers and field assistants who collected canopy soil in March 2004 near Haast, New Zealand. Left to right: Assoc. Prof. Fred Spiegel, Barbara Stephenson, Craig Chu, Prof. Steve Stephenson, Natasha Jones, Rob Daly, Randy Darrah, Suzy Draffin. Photo by David Orlovich.

Below. Land-loving researchers look on as Rob Daly (not in the picture!) climbs a tree to collect samples before the onset of (more) torrential rain. Students Craig and Natasha steady the rope below.

Website by David Orlovich. It is Monday 22nd Mar, 2010 12:03 am in New Zealand.