Fungi of ornamental woodchips in Surrey

Alien fungal species distribution: the study case of Favolaschia calocera

“…Such a route of fungal introduction is not unusual because there have been several reports throughout the world of exotic saprotrophic fungi introduced via timber and woodchips (e.g. Parent and Thoen 1986;Shaw et al 2004). According to the molecular analysis performed by Johnston et al (2006), the isolates from New Zealand, Kenya, Norfolk Island and Réunion Island represent very recent, probably human-vectored introductions.…”

“…As far as saprotrophic taxa are concerned, in-depth studies have been carried out with a few species, for example Clathrus archeri (Parent and Thoen 1986;Parent et al 2000;Selosse, personal communication), Gymnopus luxurians (Antonín and Herink 1999), Coprinopsis stangliana (Bougher 2006), and some woodchip fungi (Shaw et al 2004). As far as ectomycorrhizal fungi are concerned, their accidental introduction and spreading have been carefully studied and monitored for Amanita muscaria (Johnston and Buchanan 1998;Sawyer et al 2001;Bagley and Orlovich 2004), A. phalloides (Pringle and Vellinga 2006), Boletus edulis s.l.…”

Is the Perigord black truffle threatened by an invasive species? We dreaded it and it has happened!

“…The ecological impacts of the intentional/unintentional introduction of fungal species, apart from plant pathogens, have been largely ignored (Schwartz et al ., 2006). Regarding saprotrophic taxa, in‐depth studies have only been carried out with a few species, for example Coprinopsis stangliana (Bougher, 2006), and some woodchip fungi (Shaw et al ., 2004). As far as ectomycorrhizal fungi are concerned, the accidental introduction and spread of Amanita phalloides (Pringle & Vellinga, 2006), Boletus edulis s.l.…”

Leratiomyces ceres (Strophariaceae, Basidiomycota), new to Poland

“…The practice of applying wood and bark from chipped or shredded trees, to conserve soil moisture and as a natural weed barrier, to vegetable gardens, flower beds and shrubberies has become more popular since the mid-1980s, contributing to the emergence of a unique habitat for many species of wood-decaying fungi [44,58]. Possibly due to the high levels of terpenes and other inhibitory compounds in bark, mulch fungi are generally known to prefer woodchips than bark chippings [58]. Finely chopped woody material can support diverse saprotrophic fungal communities, including alien species [44,53], although these assemblages are generally known to be short-lived.…”