The Known, the Unknown, and the Expected: 130 Years of Research on Non-Lichenized Fungi and Fungus-Like Organisms in the Białowieża Primeval Forest, Poland

The history of mycological research and current activities in the Polish part of the Białowieża Primeval Forest are presented. The review of literature-derived and unpublished data on species of non-lichenized fungi and protozoan and chromistan fungal analogues indicates a minimum of 3504 species observed in this area. The gaps in the exploration of fungi: unstudied taxa, plant communities, habitats, hosts, and substrates, as well as the limitations of former studies, are discussed. Our estimates show that a total of 8000 fungal species possibly occur in the Białowieża National Park alone, and more than 10,000 are expected to be found in the Polish part of the Białowieża Primeval Forest. Despite more than a centennial history of mycological research, the majority of data come from only a few older scientific projects and several more recent citizen-science-related activities, emphasizing the need for a modern, interdisciplinary study on the diversity and ecology of fungi in this area.

Coprophilous ascomycetes of the Oleshkivski Pisky National Nature Park (Kherson region, Ukraine)

As a result of mycological research 34 species of coprophilous ascomycetes from 14 genera, 10 families, and 5 orders were recorded on the territory of the Oleshkivski Pisky National Nature Park. Among them 15 species belonged to the class Sordariomycetes, 12 – to Dothideomycetes, and 7 – to Pezizomycetes. Among the orders of the fungi, Sordariales – 12 species, Pleosporales – 11, and Pezizales – 7, occupy the leading position; the rest of the orders revealed the fewer number of species. Among the families, Sporormiaceae, Podosporaceae, Coniochaetaceae, Delitschiaceae, and Sordariacea, were the most abundant regarding the number of species and specimens. The species from the five leading families represent 64,7% of the total number of identified species. Among the found genera of the coprophilous ascomycetes, Coniochaeta, Delitschia, Sordaria, Sporormiella, and Triangularia prevailed by number of species, demonstrating much larger diversity, than others. Environmental conditions inside the park are more favorable for the development of loculoascomycetes and pyrenomycetes. The discomycetes species diversity was much less. The list of recorded fungi and their substrates is presented. All species of ascomycetes were collected on the hare and cattle excrements. Other dung types have not been studied. 31 species are new to the territory of the park, 15 species are new records for the steppe zone of Ukraine. Coniochaeta hansenii and Sporormiella tetramera are first recorded in Ukraine. Descriptions, illustrations, synonyms and general distribution are provided for them. C. hansenii is a fairly common and widespread species in the world, occurring mainly on the leporid droppings. In the park, this species was also collected on hare dung. S. tetramera also belongs to the widespread but rare species of coprophilous ascomycetes, known from isolated records in a few countries. It was collected on the hare excrements in the park. Сoniochaeta leucoplaca, Delitshia perpusilla and Triangularia comata were collected for the first time in the steppe zone of Ukraine and for the second time in the country. У результаті дослідження копрофільних аскоміцетів Національного природного парку «Олешківські піски» було виявлено 34 види грибів із 14 родів, 10 родини та 5 порядків. Це представники трьох класів: Sordariomycetes – 15 видів, Dothideomycetes – 12, Pezizomycetes – 7. Серед порядків найчисельнішими є Sordariales – 12 видів, Pleosporales – 11 та Pezizales – 7. У родинному спектрі грибів переважають представники Sporormiaceae, Podosporaceae, Coniochaetaceae, Delitschiaceae та Sordariacea, які об’єднують 64,7% загальної кількості виявлених видів аскоміцетів. Серед родів переважають Coniochaeta, Delitschia, Sordaria, Sporormiella та Triangularia. Екологічні умови території парку є більш сприятливими для розвитку локулоаскоміцетів і піреноміцетів. Кількість знахідок видів дискоміцетів є незначною. Представлено список зареєстрованих видів грибів, для кожного виду вказано локалітети та живильні субстрати. Всі види грибів зібрані на посліді зайця та корови. Інші типи копром не досліджувались. З виявлених видів аскоміцетів 31 наводиться вперше для території парку, 15 є новими для степової зони України. Два види аскоміцетів є новими для мікобіоти України та Східної Європи: Coniochaeta hansenii та Sporormiella tetramera. У статті представлено їх діагнози та фото, обговорюються деталі морфології, субстратної приуроченості та поширення у світі. C. hansenii є досить звичайним та поширеним у світі видом, що переважно трапляється на екскрементах зайцеподібних.На території парку також була зібрана на копромах зайця. S. tetramera належить до поширених у світі, але рідкісних видів копрофільних аскоміцетів, відомих з поодиноких знахідок у небагатьох країнах. У парку зібрана на посліді зайця. Знахідки Сoniochaeta leucoplaca, Delitshia perpusilla та Triangularia comata є новими для території степової зони України та вдруге наводяться для нашої держави.

Scientific Research Conducted at the Department of Mycology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn

<p>This paper presents a review of the research conducted by the staff of the Department of Mycology at UWM, Olsztyn since its establishment to the present. This unit was established and has been headed for over 20 years by Prof. Maria Dynowska. Since 2004, the Department has been conducting extensive mycological research, which is reflected in the dynamic growth of specialist staff involved in teaching activities and popularizing scientific research. Owing to the particular care of Prof. Dynowska, and maintenance of the principal interdisciplinary character of the research, the Department has been occupying a significant position in mycology in Poland recently. This paper attempts to provide a summary of the major scientific accomplishments of the team headed by Prof. Dynowska.</p>

Production of paper from mushroom raw materials

For the first time, ecologically pure A4 and A5 paper was obtained from aphyllophoroid fungi. Classical methods of mycological research and methods of creating paper web were used.

The mycological social network a way forward for conservation of fungal biodiversity

SummaryBecause knowledge of fungal diversity is very incomplete, it is possible that anthropogenic impacts are driving species to extinction before they have been discovered. Fungal inventories are still incomplete and do not reflect the complete diversity of this large taxon. Whilst molecular advancements are leading to an increased rate of species discovery, there is still much to be done to understand the diversity of fungi, identify rare species and establish conservation goals. Citizen science via social media could play an increasingly important role in mycological research, and its continued development should be supported and encouraged. The involvement of non-professionals in data collection helps increase public awareness, as well as extending the scope and efficiency of fungal surveys. Future academic mycological research could benefit from social media interaction and engagement with the amateur mycological community, which may accelerate the achievement of more effective conservation goals.

Fungal literature records database of the Northern West Siberia (Russia)

Mycological research in the Northern part of West Siberia has now become sufficient for review and digitisation as over 460 scientific works have been completed mainly since the beginning of the 20th century. The history of research in the region started from isolated studies at the beginning of the 20th century, but regular and systematic research started from the 1970s. Over the following decades, several dozens of researchers have worked in the area, but the reported occurrences were scattered amongst a broad variety of publications, mainly hardly available. The great need in digitisation and accumulation of fungal records reported in published literature in a standardised regional database has now become evident. The «Fungal records database of the Northern West Siberia» (FuNWS) was initiated in 2016 according to contemporary biodiversity data standards (Darwin Core), to be compatible and accessible by the broad research community. The database has been supplemented ever since by the collective effort of specialists working in the area. According to the database summary report, there are 3358 fungal and fungus-like species revealed in the Northern West Siberia at present. The richest in species number classes are Agaricomycetes (60%) and Lecanoromycetes (33%) with a total of 25 classes represented. The FuNWS database was uploaded to Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) (Ygra State University Biological Collection publisher) on 11 November 2017 (earlier titled «Fungal Records Database of Yugra, FReDY») to provide open access to the data and its reusability (Filippova et al. 2020). This publication summarises the results of the digitisation of literature-based occurrence records of fungi and fungus-like organisms initiated in the Northern part of West Siberia for the first time in the history of mycological research. The bibliography of regional mycological publications was created to include about 460 published works (Suppl. material 2). In total, about 140 literature sources were digitised and about 22000 occurrence records were integrated into the FuNWS database (Filippova et al. 2020).