Species diversity of macrofungi on fallows in the buffer zones of the landscape parks in Łódzkie province

This study presents the species structure of macrofungi in different plant communities formed on fallows as a result of secondary succession. The mycological observations were carried out in 2012 and 2013 in the buffer zones of all landscape parks in the Łódzkie province, i.e. Bolimów LP, Spała LP, Sulejów LP, Warta-Widawka LP, Łódź Hills LP, Przedbórz LP and Załęcze LP. The botanical research identified fallows representing 7 types of plant communities. In total 46 macromycetes species were found on the fallows. The diversity of macrofungi depended on the type of plant community. The highest number of fungi species was found in the communities with an admixture of trees (Pinus sylvestris, Betula pendula), while the lowest was collected on fallows almost completely covered by Cirsium arvense and Solidago canadensis. Considering the trophic classification of macrofungi found on fallows, most species were saprotrophic and mycorrhizal. Wood inhabiting saprotrophs were represented by only two speciesPrzemiany użytkowania ziemi w ostatnich 20 latach przyczyniły się do powstania w naszym kraju znacznych powierzchni odłogów, które stwarzają nowe siedliska dla rozwoju spontanicznej roślinności i grzybów. Dotychczasowe dane o grzybach wielkoowocnikowych gruntów porolnych są znikome. W prezentowanej pracy przedstawiono wyniki dwuletnich obserwacji macromycetes na powierzchniach odłogów, usytułowanych w strefach otaczających wszystkie parki krajobrazowe w woj. łódzkim. Obserwacje te pozwoliły na wyodrębnienie 7 typów zbiorowisk roślinnych powstałych na odłogach oraz zanotowanie na nich 46 gatunków macromycetes. Roślinność obserwowanych odłogów wykazywała znaczne różnice strukturalne. Były tu pionierskie powierzchnie porośnięte jedynie porostami z rodzaju Cladonia, inicjalne stadia muraw, z dominacją traw (np. Agrostis capilllaris, Festuca ovina) oraz powierzchnie o znacznej liczbie gatunków roślin zielnych, zarówno łąkowych, jak i leśnych. Odrębną grupę stanowiły powierzchnie porośnięte w przeważającej części gatunkami inwazyjnymi obcego pochodzenia, głównie Solidago canadensis i Padus serotina. Funga obserwowanych powierzchni wykazywała zróżnicowanie związane z typem roślinności. Najuboższe w grzyby okazały się powierzchnie inicjalnych muraw z chrobotkami lub roślinnością trawiastą oraz powierzchnie z dominacją Solidago canadensis. Występowały tu nieliczne owocniki gatunków z rodzaju Bovista, Lycoperdon, Calvatia. Natomiast najbogatsze w gatunki grzybów były powierzchnie porośnięte drzewami, głównie sosnami, gdzie zanotowano gatunki grzybów mykoryzowych z rodzajów: Amanita, Boletus, Inocybe, Laccaria, Suillus, Xerocomus. Na odłogach z dużym pokryciem mszakami, obserwowano grzyby wykorzystujące mchy, np. Rickenella fibula i Arrhenia lobata. Dotychczasowe badania macromycetes na odłogach woj. łódzkiego dostarczają jedynie wstępnej wiedzy o różnorodności gatunkowej grzybów na tego typu siedliskach. Wydaje się celowe prowadzenia dalszych badań na tych samych powierzchniach i obserwowanie zmian, jakie będą zachodzić w strukturze macromycetes wraz z postępującą na odłogach sukcesją

Biodiversity Quality: a paradigm for biodiversity

The internationally accepted definition of biodiversity creates difficulty in measuring difference and change. The authors suggest that well-sampled data can be used to generate a range of numerical indices reflecting species group characteristics/functionality (Species Richness, Simposons Index, Population Density, Biomass and Species Conservation Value) that can be viewed in combination to create a picture of biodiversity quality. This overall approach has considerable advantages over the currently accepted Convention on biological Diversity definition based on the "variability" of genes, species and ecosystems, since the numerical expression of the indices allows the probability of difference between biodiversity quality trends and values over time and between sites or taxonomic groups, to be assessed for statistical inference

Contrasting multi-taxa diversity patterns between abandoned and non-intensively managed forests in the southern Dolomites

The abandonment of silvicultural activities can lead to changes in species richness and composition of biological communities, when compared to those found in managed forests. The aim of this study was to compare the multi-taxonomical diversity of two mature silver fir-beech-spruce forests in the southern Dolomites (Italy), corresponding to the European Union habitat type 9130. The two sites share similar ecological and structural characteristics, but differ in their recent management histories. In the last 50 years, one site underwent non-intensive management, while the other was left unmanaged and was included in a forest reserve. The species richness and composition of eight taxa were surveyed in the two sites between 2009 and 2011. The difference in mean species richness between the two forest management types was tested through permutation tests, while differences in species composition were tested by principal coordinates analysis and the permutational multivariate analysis of variance. Mean species richness of soil macrofungi, deadwood lichens, bark beetles, and longhorn beetles were significantly higher in the abandoned than in the non-intensively managed forests. Deadwood fungi and epiphytic lichens did not differ in mean species richness between the two study sites, while mean species richness of ground beetles and birds were higher in the non-intensively managed than in the abandoned forest. Significant differences in species composition between the two sites were found for all the taxa, except for longhorn beetles. These results indicate that improving forest landscape heterogeneity through the creation of a mosaic of abandoned and extensively managed forests should better fulfill the requirements of ecologically different taxa

The role of informal protected areas in maintaining biodiversity in the Western Ghats of India

Although it is widely believed that an important function of protected areas is to conserve species that are unable to survive elsewhere, there are very few empirical studies in which a comparison is made between biodiversity of protected areas and that of the cultivated landscape surrounding them. We examined the diversity of trees, birds, and macrofungi at 58 sites in three land-use types in a tree-covered landscape in Kodagu district in the Western Ghats of India. Ten forest reserve sites in the formal protected area, and 25 sacred groves and 23 coffee plantations in the neighboring cultivated landscape were sampled. A total of 215 tree, 86 bird, and 163 macrofungus species were recorded. The forest reserve had a large number of trees that were restricted in their distribution, and the sacred groves had a large number of macrofungi. We observed that deciduous trees and non-forest-dwelling birds increased, and evergreen trees and forest-dwelling birds decreased with increasing intensity of land management. We found that trees having non-timber uses and macrofungi useful to the local people, as well as those with medicinal properties, were abundant in sacred groves. We found no significant differences in the distribution of endemic and threatened birds across the three land-use types. Although endemic trees were more abundant in the forest reserve than in sacred groves, threatened trees were more abundant in sacred groves than in the forest reserve. We attribute the high diversity in sacred groves to the native tree cover in shade coffee plantations. We conclude that informal protected areas are as important as formal ones for biodiversity conservation in Kodagu. We recommend that a conservation strategy that recognizes informal protection traditions is essential for successful biodiversity conservation in regions where formal reserves are surrounded by a matrix of cultivated land

Gasteroid fungi – the morphological characteristics of selected endangered and rare species noted in Poland

The aim of the work was to present the characteristics of selected species from Disciseda, Geastrum and Tulostoma genera which due to the small differences in morphology of their fruit bodies may pose some identification problems. The selected species of gasteroid fungi of these genera are described based on the materials collected during the course of our studies. All materials were gathered during the research into macromycetes in xerothermic habitats located in the Nida Basin. Taxa noted by us are considered to be very rare in the mycobiota of Poland and are highly endangered.Do analizy morfologicznej wybrano gatunki, które w obrębie rodzajów wykazują niewielkie różnice w budowie owocników. Na podstawie cech makro- i mikromorfologicznych, które zaobserwowano podczas badań terenowych i laboratoryjnych, sporządzono pełne opisy zanotowanych taksonów. Istotne różnice w budowie owocników poszczególnych taksonów wynikają ze stopnia rozwoju i zachowania cech poszczególnych owocników (Tomaszewska et al. 2011). Cechy te zacierają się w miarę dojrzewania i starzenia się tych struktur. Na wykształcenie cech fenotypowych mogą także wpływać między innymi czynniki pogodowe i siedliskowe (Tomaszewska et al. 2012). Otrzymane wyniki wskazują na potrzebę dalszych badań tej grupy grzybów, w celu poznania pełnej zmienności cech budowy morfologicznej i poprawnej identyfikacji taksonów

Sixty-one macrofungi species new to Hungary in Őrség National Park

In this paper, an annotated checklist of macrofungi from Őrség National Park, West Hungary, is provided. A total of 726 macrofungi taxa representing 214 genera, 84 classes and 2 phyla (Asco- and Basidiomycota) were revealed. Sixty-one macrofungi species were new to the mycobiota of Hungary. Sporocarps were collected three times (in May, August and September–October) between 2009 and 2010 in 35 (40 m × 40 m) forest stands with different tree species compositions. Preferred tree species compositions and substrata of registered macrofungi are also listed

Considering Sampling Methods for Macrofungi Exploration in Turgo Tropical Forest Ecosystem

Diversity of macrofungi is widely studied because of its role as decomposer, and highly reported of its potentially using for foods, agricultures, medicinal purposes, and bioremediation. This study was carried out to consider sampling methods for macrofungi exploration especially in Turgo tropical forest ecosystem. There were two sampling method models which adequately bring our macrofungi collection to have valid data. The first is adaptive sampling which includes fixed-size plots where prior we decided how many tracks, plots, or what size to examine at each site to help keeping our focus on track. By having a fixed plot, we allowed ourselves to find our macrofungi and work on the identification process thoroughly without racing against the time as much. Then we can obtain frequency, distribution, density and others ecological quantitative data by sampling plots. Another way, we can choose opportunistic sampling, we mean carefully walking on through chosen site as study area and collecting conspicuous sporocarp of macrofungi. This method needs no plots and does not produce any quantitative data but looking for many more diversity on macrofungi. The way of sampling, depends on the duration of observation and the purposes of the research. According to the consideration result, we concluded to choose the adaptive sampling method to explore the macrofungi in Turgo tropical forest ecosystem.

Inventory of macrofungi at peat swamp forest area, Kapuas Hulu, West Kalimantan

The areas surrounding peat swamp forest at Dusun Meliau and Bukit Peninjau, Kapuas Hulu, West Kalimantan host a diverse species of flora and fauna, including macrofungi. However, the information on the macrofungal diversity in this area has not been reported. The goal of this study was to obtain information on the diversity of macrofungi that can be used as food and medicine. Data was collected by direct modified collection method using plot (10 × 20 m) with interval 10 m along the transect line. A total of 79 specimens of macrofungi discovered from the two locations, of which 23 and 66 specimens were collected from Dusun Meliau and Bukit Peninjau, respectively. Of the 79 macrofungi specimens, 16 specimens were potential as a food source, and 41 as medicine. The macrofungi in this study was dominated by members of Ordo Aphyllophorales

Abundance and Diversity of Macrofungi in Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar.

Fungi are a vital part of most ecosystems. In general the habitat requirements of fungi are poorly known. With habitat degradation happening at an unprecedented rate worldwide, studying the patterns of fungi biodiversity is essential to ascertain what regions may be conservation priorities. The aim of this study was to evaluate potential differences in fungal diversity and abundance between primary and selectively logged rainforests in Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar. Sixteen 5 m x 5 m plots in each forest type were searched thoroughly for macrofungi and specimens were identified down to morphological group. The morphological group diversity (Shannon Index) and abundance of macrofungi were calculated for each plot. In total, 10 distinct morphological groups were found in Ranomafana. The primary forest had a significantly higher abundance of macrofungi (830) as compared to the forest selectively logged two decades previously. (462). However, this contrasts could be the result of differing weather conditions during sampling. There was no significant difference observed in macrofungi morphological group diversity between the primary and the disturbed forests and 9 of the 10 morphological groups were ubiquitous across both forests. While additional long term sampling is needed to more precisely assess the macrofungi biodiversity patterns of Ranomafana National Park, this research suggests that both the primary and selectively logged forest are viable habitat for macrofungi, and have the abiotic and biotic conditions necessary to support a high level of fungi diversity. Future research might include additional controlled experiments focusing on the causal and correlative factors influencing diversity of macrofungi in this rainforest ecosystem within Madagascar