What Do the First 597 Global Fungal Red List Assessments Tell Us about the Threat Status of Fungi?

Fungal species are not immune to the threats facing animals and plants and are thus also prone to extinction. Yet, until 2015, fungi were nearly absent on the IUCN Red List. Recent efforts to identify fungal species under threat have significantly increased the number of published fungal assessments. The 597 species of fungi published in the 2022-1 IUCN Red List update (21 July 2022) are the basis for the first global review of the extinction risk of fungi and the threats they face. Nearly 50% of the assessed species are threatened, with 10% NT and 9% DD. For regions with a larger number of assessments (i.e., Europe, North America, and South America), subanalyses are provided. Data for lichenized and nonlichenized fungi are also summarized separately. Habitat loss/degradation followed by climate change, invasive species, and pollution are the primary identified threats. Bias in the data is discussed along with knowledge gaps. Suggested actions to address these gaps are provided along with a discussion of the use of assessments to facilitate on-the-ground conservation efforts. A research agenda for conservation mycology to assist in the assessment process and implementation of effective species/habitat management is presented

Wood-inhabiting fungi on pedunculate oak coarse woody debris in relation to substratum quantity and forest age

Wood-inhabiting fungi on pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) coarse woody debris (CWd) was investigated in 50 plots of 0.1 ha in oak stands of different ages in Lithuania. In maturing stands (50-120 years) the average volume of oak CWdwas 4.7 m3 /ha, and in mature stands (over 120 years) – 13.9 m 3 /ha. Both in maturing and mature stands, the greatest fraction of CWdconsisted of fallen oak branches (81 % and 84 % respectively), whereas fallen trunks comprised about 10 % of the total units of CWd. In total 1350 records of 203 species (49 ascomycetes and 154 basidiomycetes) were collected during 2 years of investigation. species richness and abundance increased significantly with the increase of volume and abundance of CWd. Higher species richness was detected in mature stands than in maturing ones. Woodinhabiting species composition varied greatly at stand scale, and one third of all detected species occurred only in one plot. Redlisted fungi were found only in mature stands. We conclude that, even in managed oak stands, oak CWd maintains a rather diverse species composition of ascomycetes and basidiomycetes. However, the current practice of forestry in Lithuania of removing dying or dead wood of large volume, e.g. standing and fallen trunks, reduce the distribution of highly specialized, usually rare, and endangered fungi

Challenges of ecological restoration: Lessons from forests in northern Europe

The alarming rate of ecosystem degradation has raised the need for ecological restoration throughout different biomes and continents. North European forests may appear as one of the least vulnerable ecosystems from a global perspective, since forest cover is not rapidly decreasing and many ecosystem services remain at high level. However, extensive areas of northern forests are heavily exploited and have lost a major part of their biodiversity value. There is a strong requirement to restore these areas towards a more natural condition in order to meet the targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Several northern countries are now taking up this challenge by restoring forest biodiversity with increasing intensity. The ecology and biodiversity of boreal forests are relatively well understood making them a good model for restoration activities in many other forest ecosystems. Here we introduce northern forests as an ecosystem, discuss the historical and recent human impact and provide a brief status report on the ecological restoration projects and research already conducted there. Based on this discussion, we argue that before any restoration actions commence, the ecology of the target ecosystem should be established with the need for restoration carefully assessed and the outcome properly monitored. Finally, we identify the most important challenges that need to be solved in order to carry out efficient restoration with powerful and long-term positive impacts on biodiversity: coping with unpredictability, maintaining connectivity in time and space, assessment of functionality, management of conflicting interests and social restrictions and ensuring adequate funding