Taxonomic and Ecological Structure of Basidial Macromycetes Biota in Polar Deserts of the Northern Hemisphere

Abstract

The results of a study of the more than century-long history of taxonomic and ecological structures of basidial macromycete biota in polar deserts of the Northern Hemisphere are discussed. Nowadays, 77 species of macromycetes are known from this region, 40 species of which are agaricoid fungi, 30 are aphyllophoroid, and 7 are gasteromycetes. The highest number of species is known for the Franz Josef Land archipelago and Severanya Zemlya. All the identified species of agaricoid and 86% of gasteroid fungi are native representatives from extremely high latitudes collected under natural conditions, whereas 80% of the aphyllophoroid fungi are alien elements. All alien species are able to exist in the region exclusively in human-modified habitats, colonizing anthropogenic woody and grass substrates, and they disappear with the depletion of these resources. Despite the existence of mycobiota at the limit of the global thermal gradient, a specific species complex of macromycetes that does not occur anywhere in the world is formed here. Symbiotrophic species (basidial lichens and mycorrhiza-formers) are the most adaptable to such extreme conditions. General features of the organization with Antarctic mycobiota are established. The possibility that new species will appear in the region is discussed in connection with the intensification of human economic activity and global climate change.