摘要：The biodiversity of fungi associated with leaf litter of Pavetta indica from jungle scrub at Tambaram, Chennai, India was studied from October 1999 to September 2000. The litter was divided into freshly fallen senescent leaves (grade 1) and leaves already undergoing active decomposition (grade 2). Moist chamber incubation of the litter revealed 54 fungal taxa belonging in 40 genera. More taxa were found on grade 1 than on grade 2 litter. Alternaria alternata, Chaetomium seminudam, Circinotrichum fertile, Cladosporium oxysporum, Drechslera halodes, Fusarium lateritium, F. oxysporum, Torula herbarum, Tretopileus sp., Zygosporium echinosporum and Z. gibbum were some species recorded exclusively on grade 1 litter. Acremonium sp., Bartalinia robillardoides, Curvularia brachyspora, C. intermedia, Helicosporium vegetum and Harknessia sp. were specific to grade 2 litter. Although 37 taxa were common to both grades, there were differences in percentage occurrence between the two grades of litter. Taking the average percentage occurrence as an index of colonizing efficiency of a taxon, it was found that Euantennaria sp., Circinotrichum falcatisporum, Wiesneriomyces javanicus, Meliola sp., Zygosporium oscheoides, Beltraniella portoricensis, Selenosporella curvispora and Zygosporium masonii were active in that order. In addition to the identification of fungi after moist incubation, a washing technique was also performed. Fresh leaves attached to the plant were also collected and studied for microfungi to understand if carryover of the species from the phylloplane to the litter occurred after the leaves senesced and fell. The phylloplane study revealed 29 species, among which 19 species were carried to the grade 1 litter and 12 species thereafter to the grade 2 litter
