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Although it is logical to think that mycorrhizal mushroom production should be somehow related to the growth of the trees from which the fungi obtain carbohydrates, little is known about how mushroom yield patterns are related to tree performance. In this study, we delved into the understanding of the relationships between aboveground fungal productivity, tree radial growth patterns and climatic conditions across three latitudinally different bioclimatic regions encompassing Mediterranean, temperate and boreal forest ecosystems in Europe. For this purpose, we used a large assemblage of long-term data of weekly or biweekly mushroom yield monitoring in Spain, Switzerland and Finland. We analysed the relationships between annual mushroom yield (considering both biomass and number of sporocarps per unit area), tree ring features (tree ring, earlywood and latewood widths), and meteorological conditions (i.e. precipitation and temperature of summer and autumn) from different study sites and forest ecosystems, using both standard and partial correlations. Moreover, we fitted predictive models to estimate mushroom yield from mycorrhizal and saprotrophic fungal guilds based on climatic and dendrochronological variables. Significant synchronies between mushroom yield and climatic and dendrochronological variables were mostly found in drier Mediterranean sites, while few or no significant correlations were found in the boreal and temperate regions. We observed positive correlations between latewood growth and mycorrhizal mushroom biomass only in some Mediterranean sites, this relationship being mainly mediated by summer and autumn precipitation. Under more water-limited conditions, both the seasonal wood production and the mushroom yield are more sensitive to precipitation events, resulting in higher synchrony between both variables. This comparative study across diverse European forest biomes and types provides new insights into the relationship between mushroom productivity, tree growth and weather conditions., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This article presents the ecological distribution of the edible and medicinal mushroom Polyporus umbellatus in Central Europe. Our main motivation is to describe the potential for commercial cultivation of this species. All data considered in this study are based on records from 70 localities in Slovakia. Fruiting bodies and sclerotia have been recorded in forests in which beech, hornbeam, and oak dominate, at altitudes ranging from 150 to 935 m (mean altitude, 403 m). In Slovakia, these areas correspond to warm, hilly, and upland beech-oak and oak-beech forests. Mean annual air temperature between 6°C and 9°C characterizes about 94% of the areas. Continuous monitoring of fruiting body production at 13 plots showed peak growth in August. In total, 192 fruiting bodies were recorded over a 5-year period. P. umbellatus predominantly grows in acidic soils (pH 4.5-4.99), with no individuals found in soils with pH above 7.0. Our findings can be used for growing the fungus and expanding its growth to new regions, not only in Central Europe.

This study provides morphological and molecular evidence (from nuclear ITS, LSU, and rpb2 DNA sequences) for three previously unrecognized species within the morphospecies Lactifluus volemus from Europe. Phylogenetic species are supported by both a multi-locus tree-based method and Bayesian species delimitation. Lactifluus volemus and Lactifluus oedematopus are provided with a new description, and a third species, Lactifluus subvolemus, is described as new to science. Lactifluus oedematopus can be easily recognized by its short pileipellis hairs. Both L. volemus and L. subvolemus have longer pileipellis hairs and can only be distinguished from each other based on cap colour. Intermediary colour forms, however, occur as well, and cannot be identified as either L. volemus or L. subvolemus without molecular data. Revealing that L. volemus--already considered extinct in the Netherlands and the Belgian Flemish region, and declining in other European countries--is actually a complex of three species that are even more vulnerable to extinction, this study emphasizes the fundamental role of taxonomy in species conservation., (Copyright © 2015 The British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In terrestrial ecosystems, fungi are the major agents of decomposition processes and nutrient cycling and of plant nutrient uptake. Hence, they have a vital impact on ecosystem processes and the terrestrial carbon cycle. Changes in productivity and phenology of fungal fruit bodies can give clues to changes in fungal activity, but understanding these changes in relation to a changing climate is a pending challenge among ecologists. Here we report on phenological changes in fungal fruiting in Europe over the past four decades. Analyses of 746,297 dated and geo-referenced mushroom records of 486 autumnal fruiting species from Austria, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom revealed a widening of the annual fruiting season in all countries during the period 1970-2007. The mean annual day of fruiting has become later in all countries. However, the interspecific variation in phenological responses was high. Most species moved toward a later ending of their annual fruiting period, a trend that was particularly strong in the United Kingdom, which may reflect regional variation in climate change and its effects. Fruiting of both saprotrophic and mycorrhizal fungi now continues later in the year, but mycorrhizal fungi generally have a more compressed season than saprotrophs. This difference is probably due to the fruiting of mycorrhizal fungi partly depending on cues from the host plant. Extension of the European fungal fruiting season parallels an extended vegetation season in Europe. Changes in fruiting phenology imply changes in mycelia activity, with implications for ecosystem function.

Tricholoma scalpturatum is an ectomycorrhizal fungus that forms symbioses with roots of diverse trees and shrubs. It is commonly encountered in a wide range of habitats, across temperate ecosystems. A previous study has revealed a high genetic diversity at a local scale, and ruderal abilities. To examine genetic structure at a large geographical scale, a total of 164 basidiocarps were collected from 30 populations located in Western Europe, from Spain to Scandinavia. These samples were analyzed by three molecular methods with different levels of resolution: inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSRs), restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) in the rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS), and ITS sequence analysis. Considerable genetic variation was found, and the morphospecies was separated into two genetic groups that were distinct from each other. The ISSR data and the relatively low percentage value (96%) of shared sequence polymorphisms in the ITS between isolates from the two groups, strongly suggest cryptic species and long-lasting separation. No geographical exclusion was detected for these two widely distributed taxa. However, high estimates of population differentiation were observed in each group, including between populations less than a few kilometers apart. This result provides evidence for limited gene flow and/or founding effects. It also indicates that T. scalpturatum does not constitute a random mating population, and the hypothesis of endemism cannot be excluded for this cosmopolitan wind-dispersed fungus.