Macrofungi as indicators of forest regeneration and forest developmental processes

Abstract

The Hungarian National Biodiversity Monitoring System (Hungarian abbreviation: NBMR) was launched by the National Authority for Nature Conservation. Mycological monitoring, after several years of preliminary surveys, started in 2001 in forest reserves of two mountains situated in different parts of Hungary. The long-term purpose of the 5th project of the protocol was planned to be twofold control of the impacts of forest management onto the species composition, species richness and functional distribution of macrofungi as well as monitoring the trends in macrofungal communities of the investigated forests. The monitoring of macrofungi was started at two sites, in the Bükk and Mecsek mountains in Hungary. The results are the next: availability of dead wood of the forest reserves is very important for the maintenance of fungi as a source of nutrition, and thus significantly increases diversity. Dead wood of different dimensions as well as states of decomposition, provide variable habitats for lignicolous macrofungi. The conditions of forest stands are well characterised by the functional spectra of their macrofungal assemblages, suggesting that these spectra are good mycological indicators of the state of forests. During our investigations some species were identified that are good indicators of some characteristics of the forests, such as naturalness, the age of the forest, the amount of dead wood and the completeness of the decomposition cycle.