Abstract
Polyporous fungi, a morphologically delineated group of Agaricomycetes (Basidiomycota), are considered well studied in Europe and used as model group in ecological studies and for conservation. Such broad interest, including widespread sampling and DNA based taxonomic revisions, is rapidly transforming our basic understanding of polypore diversity and natural history. We integrated over 40,000 historical and modern records of polypores in Estonia (hemiboreal Europe), revealing 227 species, and including Polyporus submelanopus and P. ulleungus as novelties for Europe. Taxonomic and conservation problems were distinguished for 13 unresolved subgroups. The estimated species pool exceeds 260 species in Estonia, including at least 20 likely undescribed species (here documented as distinct DNA lineages related to accepted species in, e.g., Ceriporia, Coltricia, Physisporinus, Sidera and Sistotrema). Four broad ecological patterns are described: (1) polypore assemblage organization in natural forests follows major soil and tree-composition gradients; (2) landscape-scale polypore diversity homogenizes due to draining of peatland forests and reduction of nemoral broad-leaved trees (wooded meadows and parks buffer the latter); (3) species having parasitic or brown-rot life-strategies are more substrate-specific; and (4) assemblage differences among woody substrates reveal habitat management priorities. Our update reveals extensive overlap of polypore biota throughout North Europe. We estimate that in Estonia, the biota experienced ca. 3–5% species turnover during the twentieth century, but exotic species remain rare and have not attained key functions in natural ecosystems. We encourage new regional syntheses on long studied fungal groups to obtain landscape-scale understanding of species pools, and for elaborating fungal indicators for biodiversity assessments.
Highlights
The fact that global biodiversity trends are assessed almost without a fungal perspective (e.g., Butchart et al 2010, IPBES 2018) calls into question how we should integrate scattered mycological knowledge
Estonian polypore diversity Parmasto (2004) reported 212 polypore species in Estonia, of which 198 can be currently considered accepted, several have been subdivided on a larger geographical scale (e.g. Antrodia crassa, Antrodia sitchensis, Polyporus tuberaster, Postia sericeomollis and Skeletocutis nivea s. str. are not known in Estonia)
Six of those species are listed as Regionally Extinct based on the lack of records for > 50 years: Antrodia heteromorpha, Diplomitoporus crustulinus, Inonotopsis subiculosa, Inonotus dryadeus, Phellinus viticola, and Polyporus pseudobetulinus (Table 2)
Summary
The fact that global biodiversity trends are assessed almost without a fungal perspective (e.g., Butchart et al 2010, IPBES 2018) calls into question how we should integrate scattered mycological knowledge. All polypores were included into a common family, Polyporaceae, within the order Aphyllophorales (Fries 1874) This higher classification based on basidiome morphology was refined by several mycologists in the twentieth century, most notably by Singer (1944), Donk (1948, 1964, 1971), and Jülich (1981), but has been largely rejected since the introduction of molecular systematics. Molecular data have revealed extensive undescribed species diversity, including morphologically indistinguishable (cryptic) taxa (e.g., Korhonen et al 2018). Despite these changes in taxonomy and systematics, polypores continue to be treated as a morphogroup in local and regional studies (e.g., Dai 2012, Zhou et al 2016, Ryvarden & Melo 2017), and in ecological and conservation research. The reasons for that include acceptance by conservationists and educational values
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