Soil samples from six sites in Provence, France, were flooded with
water and baited with cellophane, specifically to obtain
Rhizophlyctis rosea; all proved positive. By standardizing the
cellophane addition and counting the R. rosea thalli that grew
on it,
derivations of thallus recovery g−1 of soil (TRG) were
possible. Where aliquot soil samples for assay were small, sterilized soil
leachate was used to chemically reinforce the flood water. Mean TRG was
395 for a grassland soil and 1293 following drying and
removal of small stones from it. Separated leaf humus from the same dried
soil had a mean TRG of 1105. Thought was given to
what these figures might represent, in terms of sporangia of R. rosea
present in the soil at the time of its collection. These are the
first quantitative results in soil ecology for the Chytridiales.