Abstract
In spite of extensive amount of forest biodiversity research in Fennoscandia, the exact mechanisms behind species declines are still poorly understood. Forests are the most important habitat for red-listed species, and the effects of forestry are the primary cause of species becoming threatened. We plan to identify the demographic and genetic processes that disentangle those species of aphyllophorous fungi (polypores and corticioids) that have and have not responded negatively to forest management and fragmentation. The ecology and distribution of many dead-wood dependent fungal species is deficiently known, and a substantial fraction of the well-known species has declined. In all Fennoscandian countries, around 20% of all aphyllophorous species are classified as threatened or near-threatened. We will study the variables that affect the occurrence of the species, with a particular focus on how species' life-history traits are linked with their vulnerability to the effects of forestry. This will enable the assessment of conservation needs and the prediction of future population trends. Such information is critical for the design and development of scientifically informed and cost-effective conservation measures. We will study the occurrence of dead-wood dependent fungi as fruit bodies, mycelia and spores in isolated and well-connected forests. We will also examine the variation in intraspecific genetic diversity and its effects to the viability of populations. Our team has state-of-the-art expertise in fungal molecular biology. The project takes advantage of the ongoing revolution in molecular biology and sequencing technology, which enables one to combine conventional fruit-body inventories with direct measurements of the mycelial and dispersal stages. We will produce systematic and unbiased information on the distribution and abundance of the entire fungal community, including a large number of threatened and deficiently known species.
Norway