Abstract
Mushrooming is a widespread leisure activity for a significant part of the Slovak population. From the point of view of the ecosystem services, it combines a provisioning service (mushrooms as food or delicacies) and a cultural service (mushroom picking as physical activity in nature). For urban residents, the forest is a refuge from the daily work routine, and mushrooming contributes significantly to improving their quality of life. For mushroom pickers living in rural areas, the occurrence and availability of mushroom harvesting sites are often even more important since it contributes to their diet or even provides an occasional income. We summarised the ecological preferences of selected ectomycorrhizal mushrooms and applied them as parameters for modelling the potential of forest stands for mushroom growing in central Slovakia. In the second step, we analysed the theoretical demand for wild mushrooms as a subsistence provisioning service for the local population with a special focus on socially disadvantaged inhabitants. The results showed that there is a spatial overlap of forest stands with a high potential for mushroom growing and the districts with the highest proportion of unemployment or of inhabitants receiving social benefits, and the best mushroom forest stands are situated within walking distance from the settlements. This supports the initial assumption that wild mushrooms may contribute to a better life for disadvantaged local communities.
Highlights
Mushrooms are most often perceived through the picking of their fruiting bodies
Potential of Forest Stands for Mushrooms Growing
621,461 ha in the region; out of it, 14.4% are forest stands with a high potential for wild mushrooms
Summary
Mushrooms are most often perceived through the picking of their fruiting bodies. Over centuries, they have evolved from the food of the poor to a delicacy, to the position where they have become mainly a nutritional supplement, often with healing effects [1]. Mushroom picking has increased worldwide and has been increasing since the 1980s [2] and is becoming a recreational activity with regional to local specifics [3]. As reported by [4], based on data from 13 European countries, 152 species belonging to 12 genera of wild mushrooms are collected. Together with the neighbouring countries with a predominantly Slavic population, belongs to the so-called “mycophilic”. The overall importance of fungi is increasing so that it is proposed to replace the commonly used term ‘edible mushrooms’ with the term ‘useful mushrooms’ as their use relates to their consumption and for securing mycorrhiza, medical uses, or soil decontamination [7]
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