Macrofungi diversity in cork-oak and holm-oak forests in Andalusia (southern Spain); an efficient parameter for establishing priorities for its evaluation and conservation

Abstract

AbstractIn this work, the fungal diversity of holm-oak and cork-oak woodlands in southern Spain is studied in order to analyse the macrofungi component and its ecological characteristics, as well as to establish priorities for its conservation. For this, we have compiled published as well as unpublished data, and applied compositional analysis and statistical methods (basic statistics, non-parametric and multivariate analyses). Priority areas were selected based on complementarity analysis. As a result, 838 taxa were recorded, 78.6% in cork-oak and 76.4% in holm-oak forests, with 55.1% in common. The ratio of mycorrhizal to saprophitic species indicated that cork-oak woodlands present a higher diversity and conservation degree of its macrofungal community than holm-oak woodlands, since the mycorrhizal component is more important for the conservation of these forests (due to nutritional relations). Both forests types appear well differentiated in the multivariate analysis. In the complementarity analysis, with only one site, we recorded 40% of the total species encountered. The percentage increased to 80% with four sites. This type of approach, by highlighting the important areas for conservation of fungal diversity, constitutes a powerful tool to optimise conservation efforts.