effect of environmental factors on the distribution of fungi in paddy fields in najaf

Fungi are the largest organisms found on earth; hence, it is important to understand the factors influencing their distribution. in the present study, samples were collected in three stages of rice planting: before planting, during cultivation, and after cultivation from paddy fields in najaf city. these samples were then cultured using potato dextrose agar medium. the blast tool (basic local alignment search tool) was used for the identification of the fungi, and their counts were determined using a microscope.the results showed that the identified fungi belonged to genera such as aspergillus, achroiostachys, actinomucor, cladosporium, curvularia, fusarium, penicillium, proteus, and talaromyces. the most frequently identified fungi were fusarium humuli, aspergillus niger, alternaria alternata, penicillium oxalicum, aspergillus terreus, and penicillium griseofulvum, respectively. the highest number of colonies and most significant environmental effects were observed before planting and after the agricultural stages. species distribution was significantly correlated with environmental factors. additionall y, principal component analysis revealed that the greatest impact of environmental parameters on species distribution was explained by the first and second components, which accounted for 46.05% and 30.20% of the variation, respectively.