A fruitbody of Piloderma fallax, a common mycorrhiza-forming corticioid species. It produces fruitbodies on well-decayed logs in old forests. Such logs are very species rich concerning other corticioid fungi. Photo: Karl-Henrik Larsson
The Norwegian mycobiota is partly relatively well known concerning basidiomycetes, but for species with inconspicuous fruitbodies on dead wood, the knowledge is still deficient. We focus on the diversity of wood-inhabiting corticioids, including heterobasidiomycetes, and analyze it from extensive fruitbody data from 600 logs at 10 localities across the distribution range of spruce in Norway. A similar survey (1080 logs at 18 sites) was conducted in Sweden, making it possible to study the variation in fungal species composition at a large spatial scale in Scandinavian natural-like spruce forests.
Each surveyed log was also drilled and the DNA in sawdust was pyrosequenced. We will hence be able to compare the communities revealed by fruitbody sampling and by molecular screening. We evaluate the efficiency and accuracy of fast DNA-based biodiversity screening and to what extent DNA-based methods can replace or complement traditional slow and expert-dependent methods.
Our large fruitbody dataset will considerably increase our knowledge about which species of corticioid homo- and heterobasidiomycetes occur on spruce in Norway and how they are distributed. Many species new to Norway will be found, especially among heterobasidiomycetes. Representative collections of all species will be deposited in the herbarium at NHM and DNA barcoding will be performed on species lacking representation in public databases. All data, including observations through DNA, will be made available through Artsobservasjoner.
Project manager: Jenni Nordén, Natural History Museum, University of Oslo
Project period: 2013-2014
Collaborators: Finnish Museum of Natural History and experts in Spain, Russia, Finland, USA, Sweden and Estonia.