FUNGAL REMNANTS AND FRAGMENTS OF LOW RANK COAL IN BIGA PENINSULA, NW TURKEY

Fungi are associated with degradation and oxidation processes in coal-forming swamp and mire environments. In general, fungi, with symbiotic, parasitic, and saprophytic forms, are found with huminite/vitrinite the wood-derived maceral. This study focuses on identification and interpretation of the fungal fragments of low-rank coal in Biga Peninsula (Mancilik, Sebepli, Tutuncu), NW Turkey. For this aim, the coal occurrences were sampled and the fungal particles recovered from twelve coal samples at Kentucky Geological Survey. Microscopic investigations were performed on polished sections under reflected light and mounted sections with transmitted light at laboratories of University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research, USA. Furthermore, fungal remains recovered through palynologic processing were compared with petrographic sections. Several fungal remnants, which found in transmitted light, could be identified on polished samples. Fungal examinations exhibited that saprophytic form accompanied with huminite/vitrinite, rather than symbiotic and parasitic types.