Underground Explorers

Kota waterfall is an exceptional habitat located in northern Benin. In this locality, an oligotrophic flow coming from the Atakora range has dug into the quartzite granites and forms numerous stages which can reach around ten meters deep, over which the stream falls in cascades, surrounded by a riparian forest at evergreen leaves, in which Berlinia grandiflora (Vahl) Hutch. & Dalziel, Isoberlinia doka Craib & Stapf, I. tomentosa (Harms) Craib & Stapf, Uapaca togoensis Pax and Breonadia salicine (Vahl) Hepper and J.R.I., dominate and grow in the valleys of the ravine. The Kota waterfall, presents a riparian forest, structurally rich and natural due to the waterfall which makes the habitat humid throughout the year and the vegetation, makes Kota a reference site for mycological investigations as a hotspot of endemic fungal species in Benin. To highlight the fungal diversity hidden in the soil at Kota waterfall and their ecological importance, this project aims to (1) evaluate the diversity of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) according to the health of the soil and (2) analyze the presence and density of mycorrhizal networks by highlighting how mycorrhizal associations evolve through the compositions of the plant community present. For our sampling, we will identify five microhabitats: Woodland, savannah, mixed dry forest, gallery forest and dense forest in this complex. In each microhabitat we will collect soil samples and DNA will be extracted from these samples, by targeting, amplifying and sequencing the SSU ribosomal RNA region using nested PCR approach. We expect that the remarkable diversity of flora within Kota reflects the subterranean microbial community of the habitats and that many previously unknown taxa can be found and identified. Indigenous peoples near to Kota waterfall are involved in this project.