Land-use categories shape aquatic conidial fungal communities in Atlantic Forest streams: the roles of water chemistry and substrate quality.

Land use significantly influences aquatic conidial fungal community composition, with higher diversity and occurrence in forested areas compared to rural and urban zones.

• Why it matters: Understanding how land-use changes affect fungal diversity is crucial because these fungi are key decomposers in nutrient cycling, and their loss may impair ecosystem functions.
• What they did: Researchers analyzed fungal communities in submerged leaf litter across forested, rural, and urban sites in two Brazilian tropical river basins, identifying 22 taxa and measuring water and substrate variables.
• The result: Fungal community composition was shaped by land use through changes in water chemistry and substrate nutrients, suggesting fungi as potential indicators of water quality and emphasizing watershed conservation.