The objective of this report was to verify the influence of host plants and successive multiplication cycles on pot cultures for detection of the diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in the semiarid, in area with native, preserved "caatinga" and areas impacted by gypsum mining in Araripina, PE. Four areas were selected: AN - "caatinga" native, preserved caatinga; AM - surroundings of the mine; AR - waste and AI - interface between the waste deposit area and an area degraded by mining, all of them with Yellow Latosol, varying from franc sandy to clay, with pH 5.7 to 7.5; 8 to 161 mg.dm-3 P and 0.23 to 79.8 mg.dm-3 Fe. Soil samples were taken for exam and preparation of AMF trap cultures, using peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench cv IPA-7301011) as hosts. Soon after the collection and after each multiplication cycle in trap cultures (3 cycles/3 months each), root colonization, spore number, diversity and similarity of species were evaluated in soil and root samples. The peanut plants presented higher values of root colonization (76.5 to 99.5%) than those of sorghum (21% to 73%). Higher spore production occurred in the second and third multiplication cycles. Twenty-five AMF species were identified in the areas, with Glomus intraradices Schenck & Smith, Glomus mosseae Gerdemann & Trappe, and Paraglomus occultum Morton & Redecker producing higher spore density than the other species identified. The index of similarity of AMF species varied from 40 to 67%, with the highest values found in the impacted areas.
Trap-culture; Arachis hypogaea; Sorghum bicolor; altered site recovery
