Considerations on Field Methodology for Macrofungi Studies in Fragmented Forests of Mediterranean Agricultural Landscapes

Abel Fernández Ruiz,José Sánchez Sánchez,Sergio Sánchez Durán,Prudencio García Jiménez,David Rodríguez De La Cruz,José Luis Vicente Villardón

doi:10.3390/agronomy12020528

Abstract

The methodology used for the determination of macrofungal diversity in Mediterranean areas differs in the time of sampling and the number of years displayed, making it difficult to compare results. Furthermore, the results could be refuted because the studies are being conducted over an insufficient number of years or without considering the variation of the meteorological conditions from one year to the next and its effects on fruiting time, which might not fit the sampling. In order to optimize field work on fungal fruiting in Mediterranean environments dominated by holm oak (Quercus ilex L.), a weekly field analysis of macrofungal diversity from February 2009 to June 2013 was carried out in a Mediterranean holm oak forest in the middle-west of the Iberian Peninsula. The results revealed that fruiting bodies appeared throughout the year and that there was a delay in autumn fruiting, overlapping with spring. All this seems to indicate that weekly collection throughout the year and for a period of two years could be sufficient to estimate the macrofungal biodiversity of this ecosystem.

Highlights

It is estimated that the number of fungal species on earth is between 5.1 and 6.0 M [1,2]
Studies on ecology and fungi have traditionally focused on fungi that form macroscopic spore-producing structures, called macrofungi, as opposed to microfungi and their microscopic reproductive structures [4]
Little is known about the composition and structure of the fungal communities in holm oak-dominated forests (Quercus ilex subsp. ballota (Desf.) Samp.) that characterize much of the western landscape of the Mediterranean basin [8]

Summary

Introduction

It is estimated that the number of fungal species on earth is between 5.1 and 6.0 M [1,2]. The agricultural landscape of the Mediterranean Sea basin is made up of numerous plots of continuous crop formations, both arable and woody, interrupted by forest formations [9] In many cases these forest communities are relict forest ecosystems that used to shape the landscape. The intensification of cultivation in recent centuries has contributed to a greater homogeneity of the landscape, some traditional patches dominated by tree species have been maintained due to various forestry or livestock uses [10]. The existence of these small woodlots is of great interest for a possible natural succession and conversion of disturbed ecosystems [11]. The diversity of soil fungi promotes numerous functionalities in forest ecosystems, the decomposition or recycling of nutrients, and increasing their productivity and providing a better response to environmental stress [14]

Objectives

Methods

Results