Volume 8 - 2018 - Issue 5


1. Sardinia: Mycovisions from a Charming Land

Authors: Comandini O, Paulis S, Rinaldi AC

Recieved: 08 June 2018, Accepted: 16 July 2018, Published: 04 September 2018

Sardinia is a large island (24.100 km2, the 48th largest in the world) placed in the middle of the Mediterranean basin. Home to extensive sclerophyllous forests and a range of other vegetation types, the island hosts thousands of macrofungi, many of which are linked through ectomycorrhizal (ECM) symbiosis to trees, shrubs and herbs. Despite this rich diversity, however, our knowledge of Sardinian mycota is still superficial, as relatively few studies have been devoted to this topic. One of the reasons behind this lack of interest is probably the traditional mycophoby of Sardinian people, who until recently did collect and consume only a handful of wild edible mushrooms, and used a few more as medical remedies and for other purposes. This article provides a precise account of the current status of knowledge of Sardinia macrofungi, with a special focus on ECM species. We also report on the recent change of attitude of Sardinians towards mushrooms, with their sharp rise in popularity as food, but also as crucial ecological actors, and discuss relevant consequences.

Keywords: Cistus – ectomycorrhizal fungi – ethnomycology – Halimium – Mediterranean maquis – Quercus – Sardinia – wild edible fungi

 

2. Predicting local habitat suitability in changing climate scenarios: Applying species distribution modelling for Diderma hemisphaericum

Authors: Almadrones-Reyes KJ, Dagamac NHA

Recieved: 31 July 2018, Accepted: 21 September 2018, Published: 10 September 2018

Over the past few decades, myxomycete research in the Philippines has focused mainly on diversity and systematics studies. As an important player in forest ecosystem, cosmopolitan species like Diderma hemisphaericum can serve as an ideal organism to be modelled for species distribution. Hence, this study was conducted where available species occurrence data of D. hemisphaericum in the Philippines and environmental layers for bioclimatic predictors were subjected in the MaxEnt software to give a predictive current distribution and probable distribution of the species under two changing climate scenarios (A2 and B1). The models show wider spread of the species over the influence of two most important bioclimatic variables, namely isothermality and temperature seasonality. Moreover, the models suggested areas where the species could potentially flourish and calls for possible conservation strategies for those areas that are locally facing threat of habitat loss and rapid deforestation caused by growing urbanization. This is the first report of local species distribution modelling for the Philippines and the whole Southeast Asia. 

Keywords: climate change – environmental niche – fungus-like protist – forest management – percent contribution – permutation importance

 

3. Mushroom Characterization: Part I – Illustrated Morphological Characteristics

Authors: Senthilarasu G, Kumaresan V

Recieved: 11 July 2018, Accepted: 20 August 2018, Published: 12 September 2018

Conventional taxonomy of mushrooms is often not very easy for amateur taxonomists and research scholars to initiate the research on taxonomy and diversity of mushrooms due to the complex morphological characteristics that is often very difficult to comprehend. We illustrate the external morphological characteristics of mushrooms through colorful photographs to facilitate the taxonomic characterization of mushrooms and to promote the research on mushrooms. In addition, a data sheet for morphological characteristics of agaric mushrooms is provided.

Keywords: agarics – basidiomycetes – fungi – morphology – mushrooms – polypores – taxonomy

 

4. A preliminary study of wood-decay fungi in forests of northwest Arkansas

Authors: Alshammari N, Stephenson SL

Recieved: 28 July 2018, Accepted: 15 August 2018, Published: 20 September 2018

The present study represented an effort to characterize the assemblage of wood-decay fungi associated with forest ecosystems in northwest Arkansas. Specimens of fungi were collected from two different study areas. These were Pea Ridge National Military Park and Devil’s Den State Park. In addition, small pieces of coarse woody debris (usually dead branches) were collected in the two study areas, returned to the laboratory and placed in plastic incubation chambers to which water was added. Fruiting bodies appearing in these chambers over a period of several months were collected and handled in the same manner as specimens on decaying wood obtained in the field. All specimens were identified through sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) ribosomal DNA region. A total of 111 taxa were recorded, the majority of which could be identified to species. Seventy-seven taxa were recorded as field collections, whereas 34 taxa were recorded from the incubation chambers. Surprisingly, the two sets of data did not share any examples in common. 

Keywords: Basidiomycota – coarse woody debris – ITS ribosomal DNA region – Ozarks

 

About CREAM Journal

Current Research in Environmental & Applied Mycology (Journal of Fungal Biology) publishes reviews, research articles and methodology papers and articles in environmental and appied mycology. The official journal language is English.

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