Os cogumelos do Parque de Natureza de Noudar

Os cogumelos suscitam a atenção do Homem, desde tempos imemoriais. Belos e misteriosos, apetitosos ou mortais, estão presentes em todos os ecossistemas. Os montados alentejanos apresentam uma grande diversidade de cogumelos e o Parque Natural de Noudar (PNN), conhecido pela sua riqueza florística e faunística, não foge à regra. Com esta obra, pretende-se dar a conhecer as espécies de cogumelos mais emblemáticas do PNN, iniciando-se com uma breve caracterização desta área. Em seguida, começando por explicar o que são fungos, em particular os que produzem cogumelos, abordar-se-ão aspectos relacionados com a sua morfologia, caracteres de identificação, ecologia e importância nos ecossistemas. Apresentam-se, sob a forma de fichas individuais, as espécies de cogumelos mais relevantes, assinaladas até ao momento no PNN, caracterizando-se cada uma delas e assinalando-se a sua distribuição na área do Parque

CULTURE MEDIA AND PROCESS FOR IMPROVED ISOLATION AND MAINTENANCE OF TERFEZIA SPP. MYCELIUM CULTURES

The present invention relates to a culture media and to a process for improved isolation and maintenance of mycelium cultures of “desert truffles” included within the genus Terfezia, the most species rich of all of desert truffle genera. Cultivation of these ectomycorrhizal Ascomycota implies the co-culture of both fungal symbiont and plant host in sterile or semi-sterile conditions. However, isolation and maintenance of Terfezia spp. pure cultures can be challenging. Moreover, many strains are unable to be sub-cultured, and so far, the few successful attempts, mainly with Terfezia spp. from alkaline soils, were found to grow much too slowly to produce adequate amounts of mycelial inoculum in conventional culture media and conditions

Efeito do posicionamento da necromassa de herbáceas no processo de decomposição e libertação de nutrientes.

Estudou-se a influência do posicionamento da necromassa de herbáceas, à superfície e a 10 cm de profundidade do solo, no processo de decomposição e libertação de nutrientes. Para o efeito, colheu-se no Verão de 1998 a necromassa de herbáceas que cresceram em zonas de montado numa área experimental na região de Évora. O estudo da decomposição teve início em Janeiro de 1999 e decorreu durante dois anos. A taxa de decomposição da necromassa das herbáceas, calculada para os dois anos de estudo, foi mais baixa para os resíduos dispostos à superfície (HS) (k= -0,849; r2aj= 0,995; n=7) do que para os incorporados no solo (HP) (k= -1,332; r2aj= 0,938; n=7). Nos primeiros 82 dias o decréscimo da MO processou-se a um ritmo semelhante, mas após esse período passou a ser mais rápido nas HP. No final do estudo, as HS apresentavam 23% de MO remanescente e as HP apenas 12%. A libertação dos nutrientes ocorreu desde o início do processo de decomposição, tendo sido acentuada nos primeiros 82 dias. Verificou-se que, durante esta fase inicial, as proporções remanescentes de N, P, K, Ca e Mg foram mais baixas para as HS do que para as HP. Findo este período, a libertação do N, do P e do Ca foi mais acentuada nas HP do que nas HS. Os resultados obtidos indicam que o posicionamento dos resíduos de herbáceas influencia as diferentes etapas do respectivo processo de decomposição. Na fase de lixiviação a libertação de nutrientes foi mais acentuada para HS; na fase seguinte, tanto a libertação de N, P e Ca como a decomposição da MO foram mais rápidas para as HP

Diversidade de macrofungos na comparação entre tipos de exploração florestal

O estudo da diversidade de macrofungos nos ecossistemas florestais é dificultado pela parcimónia com que muitas espécies frutificam e pelos imprevistos que surgem ao longo dos anos. O presente estudo é a primeira implementação duma abordagem comparativa, baseada na observação em paralelo de parcelas representativas de diferentes modelos de povoamento (sobreiral de referência, com agricultura ou com pastagem, pinhal, misto). Da amostragem de 94 espécies feita na Primavera e Outono de 2003 no concelho de Chamusca, verificou-se que a diversidade de macrofungos era relativamente baixa nos modelos com agricultura ou pastagem — neste último praticamente sem frutificação de espécies ectomicorrízicas, predominantes em todos os outros modelos. As parcelas mistas não apresentaram esporóforos característicos de pinhal, antes parecendo uma réplica dos sobreirais de referência. A maior parte das espécies não eram partilhadas entre modelos de povoamento, sugerindo que um maior número de parcelas permite, em prazo curto, captar mais eficientemente a diversidade existente

Ecophysiological Studies on Cistus Palhinhae Ingram and Cistus Ladanifer L. in Southern Alentejo

Cistus palhinhae Ingram is an endemic plant from Portugal, with a non-consensual taxonomical position. Some authors consider it as a variety or sub-specie of C. ladanifer L.. Until now, the knowledge about C. palhinhae is limited, so we pretend to compare ecophysiologically and anatomically both species in the same area. The study was performed in 3 sampling sessions in Cape Sardão region, where the two species occur. Plant cover structure, water potential and leaf area index were assessed. According to our results, ecophysiological processes are different between the studied species, especially the ones associated with the xeric features: C. palhinhae possesses marked xeromorphic adaptations, differing from C. ladanifer a semi-deciduos sclerophyll shrub

New Insights on Cistus salviifolius L. Micropropagation

One of the major concerns in the establishment of any mycorrhization program is ensuring the mass production of sterile, consistent and standardized plant material. In the present study, a successful protocol for micropropagation of Cistus salviifolius L. was developed. The process was initiated from nodal segments excised from mature C. salviifolius plant selected due to its mycorrhizal capacities. Murashige and Skoog basal medium supplement with gibberellic acid (0.5 mg/L) and of 6-Benzylaminopurine (0.5 mg/L) was the best medium for proliferation purposes and successful rooting was achieved with the same basal medium supplemented with Indole-3-butyric acid (0.5 mg/L). The proposed methodology represent a novelty because it allowed the rapid multiplication of C. salviifolius starting from mature explants, here reported for the first time, using lower plant growth regulators concentrations than the previously reported for this particular Cistus specie

Terfezia solaris-libera sp. nov., a new mycorrhizal species within The spiny-spored lineages

A new Terfezia species-Terfezia solaris-libera sp. nov., associated with Tuberaria guttata (Cistaceae) is described from Alentejo, Portugal. T. solaris-libera sp. nov. distinct morphology has been corroborated by its unique ITS-rDNA sequence. Macro and micro morphologic descriptions and phylogenetic analyses of ITS data for this species are provided and discussed in relation to similar spiny-spored species in this genus and its putative host plant Tuberaria guttata. T. solaris-libera sp. nov. differs from other spiny-spored Terfezia species by its poorly delimited and thicker peridium and distinct spore ornamentation, and from all Terfezia spp. in it’s ITS nrDNA sequence. In comparison, T. fanfani usually reach large ascocarp dimensions, often with prismatic peridium cells, with olive green tinges in mature gleba and different spore ornamentation. T. lusitanica has a lighter yellowish and thinner peridium and a blackish gleba upon maturity, T. extremadurensis has a thinner well delimited peridium and Tuber-like gleba and T. cistophila has a spermatic odour and is exclusively associated with Cistus spp

Morphological Characterization of the In Vitro Mycorrhizae Formed between Four Terfezia Species (Pezizaceae) with Cistus salviifolius and Cistus ladanifer—Towards Desert Truffles Production in Acid Soils

Terfezia species are obligate symbiotic partners of several xerophytic host plants, mainly belonging to the Cistaceae. Yet, their mycorrhizal associations with members of the genus Cistus remain poorly characterized and their potential application in desert truffle cultivation remains unexplored. This work provides the first anatomic descriptions of the mycorrhizae formed in vitro by four Terfezia species (i.e., T. arenaria; T. extremadurensis; T. fanfani, T. pini) with C. ladanifer and C. salviifolius, two of the most widespread and common Cistus species in acidic soils. All the tested associations resulted in the formation of ectomycorrhizae with well-developed Hartig net, but with a varying degree of mantle development. Our results also demonstrate that all the experimented Terfezia-Cistus combinations expressed high mycorrhization rates. Moreover, the present work shows that C. salviifolius and C. ladanifer are suitable plant hosts for Terfezia species, including some that are, to date, known to be only associated with annual herbs or tree species. This new evidence might aid in broadening the number of situations whereby Terfezia spp. can be cultivated in acid soils.This research was funded by Alentejo 2020 (Project ALT20-03-0145-FEDER-000006) and National Funds through FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology under the Project UIDB/05183/202

Macrofungi of Mata da Margaraça (Portugal), a relic from the Tertiary Age

Mata Nacional da Margaraça represents a rare example where the Atlantic climate influences the perpetuity of a small enclave of a previously widespread laurel forest. The higher relative humidity values (> 80%), which are almost constant all year long and the mild temperatures, rarely exceeding 30°C, even in the dry season (June to September), create an insular-like effect. The biological communities of Margaraça exhibit a transitory character. The forest is dominated by Quercus robur and Castanea sativa, yet Quercus suber, although less frequent, can also be found. The laurel species, such as Viburnum tinus, Ilex aquifolium, Laurus nobilis and the Portuguese endemic Prunus lusitanica ssp. lusitanica, relics from the ancient Portuguese Tertiary, comprise the understorey. The present work represents, to the best of our knowledge, the first regional macrofungal species list of the Mata da Margaraça published to date. The recent fires that occurred in the area have provided the opportunity to study the post-fire communities. The surveys were carried out in 2004 and later in 2018-2019. A total of 272 species were registered as belonging to Basidiomycota (≈ 80%) and Ascomycota (≈ 20%). The most represented Basidiomycota families were Russulaceae, Mycenaceae and Agaricaceae and the most represented Ascomycota families were Pyronemataceae and Pezizaceae. The new records to Portugal add up to a total of 74 species and another 116 species are new records to the province of Beira Litoral. Post-fire fungi account for 17 of the total of 272 species registered in these studies and most of these species are new to Portugal

Epigeous Macrofungi of the Parque de Natureza de Noudar in Alentejo (Portugal)

This inventory represents the first list of the epigeous macrofungi collected in Parque de Natureza de Noudar (Barrancos, Alentejo, Portugal). Throughout 3 years 162 taxa were registered, from which 8 are new species for Portugal and 77 for Alentejo. Some of them are considered rare species whereas others have been suggested to acquire a conservation status