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Fungi are among the most important organisms on earth, and they are essential components of terrestrial ecosystems. Their reproductive structures are strictly dependent and affected by environmental conditions, and community dynamics over time and space may be indirect indicators of the health status of forests. We combined macrofungal biodiversity indices in eight Mediterranean forests in Italy and surveyed 160 plots by standardized surveys, to evaluate the role of macrofungi as early predictors of change in the forest structure. The results show that indices of fungal diversity are influenced by geographic and floristic conditions, and inter- and intra-annual temperature and rainfall fluctuations affect the formation of fungal fruiting bodies. These findings suggest that environmental changes could be reflected by macrofungi, and conservation initiatives should consider the pivotal role that fungi play in biodiversity monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macrofungi are among the most crucial ecological forest resources and essential components of terrestrial ecosystems. Despite growing socio-economic interest, knowledge of their production is not understood because of many factors that can affect their natural growth. The aim of this study is to analyze which biotic and abiotic factors can influence the diversity and biomass of macrofungal fruiting bodies, at small and large scales. We worked in broadleaf Mediterranean forests, with a special focus on wild edible species (Porcini). The mycological observations were focused on epigeous macrofungi. To investigate connections between the occurrence of Boletus edulis species distribution modeling was used. Contrary to previous studies, the results reveal that, at a small (local) scale, the soil properties and the geochemical content (traces and minor elements) are more strongly correlated with macrofungal communities than vegetation (tree richness, dead wood, and litter volume) and climatic parameters (air temperatures and rainfall). At large scale, both edaphic and climatic factors, are considered essential for fungal fruiting and distribution across landscapes. The quantity of precipitation of the driest month is the crucial climatic factor influencing the occurrence of Porcini. The different results highlight a high variability and site dependence of both biotic and abiotic factors. Further studies appear to be necessary to increase knowledge on which factors have the most influence on edible and non-edible mushroom yield in various habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper addresses the need for an internationally accepted definition of biodiversity the lack of which creates difficulty in measuring biodiversity difference and change. The authors suggest that well-sampled data can be used to generate a range of numerical indices reflecting species group characteristics/functionality that can be viewed in combination to create a picture of Biodiversity Quality. Examples of this approach demonstrate how to expand the currently accepted Convention on Biological Diversity definition, based on the “variability” of genes, species and ecosystems, since the numerical expression of the indices allows the probability of difference between biodiversity quality trends and values over time, and between sites or taxonomic groups, to be assessed for statistical inference of difference or similarity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose - The purpose of this article is to: review the current methods and results of measuring the macrofungal biodiversity of both saprophytes and mycorrhiza; to show root tip analysis to be less accurate for mycorrhiza than expected when the latest research reports are considered; and to provide a simple methodology for measuring macrofungal biodiversity of forests. Design/methodology/approach - Current macrofungal biodiversity methods are reviewed. A diagram representing the relationship between the mycorrhizal fungus and the root with three axes of variation is presented. A new methodology based on fruit body recording and analysis to provide a set of biodiversity quality indices is also presented. Findings - The results of the use of the new methodology on two adjacent sites are presented as examples. The comparison of a set of sites for the full range of indices is also presented. Suggestions of how forest management may be influenced to include macrofungal biodiversity are made. Originality/value - This new approach is considered to be an improvement on current practice since it relates both rnycorrhizal biodiversity and saprophytic biodiversity to the ecosystem function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macrofungi represent one of the most difficult taxonomic groups of organisms to study and monitoring the diversity over time and space often requires a high field sampling effort. Two different monitoring approaches were used to assess macrofungal biodiversity in broadleaf Mediterranean forests in order to determine whether different sampling efforts can provide statistically similar diversity indices. Despite the different number of field visits, the results obtained show that some biodiversity indices (e.g. Shannon index, Eveness, Simpson index) values do not seem to be significantly affected by the survey approach chosen and a single survey per year has achieved comparable results to multiple surveys. This, in a wider biodiversity context it could produce a quick field methodology to study complex taxonomic groups, such as macrofungi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]