Assessment of tree species richness as a surrogate for macrofungal species richness

• Published in: Biological conservation 2005, Vol.121 (1), p.99-110
• Main Authors: Schmit, John Paul, Mueller, Gregory M, Leacock, Patrick R, Mata, Juan Luis, (Florence) Wu, Qiuxin, Huang, Yonging
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Biodiversity estimation; Biological and medical sciences; Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Indicator groups; Macrofungi; Parks, reserves, wildlife conservation. Endangered species: population survey and restocking; Ratio estimates
• ISSN: 0006-3207; 1873-2917
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2004.04.013

Attempts to understand and conserve biodiversity are hampered by a lack of information about many taxonomic groups, particularly those groups that are the most species rich. Although fungi are ubiquitous and play an important role in decomposition, nutrient cycling and nutrient uptake, little is known about fungal diversity, as fungi are usually cryptic and ephemeral. Based on a meta-analysis of macrofungal diversity studies, we show that tree diversity is a promising surrogate for macrofungal diversity at large spatial scales. We present evidence that trees species richness can be used to predict macrofungal species richness and that on the global scale, the distribution of individual tree and macrofungal species notably differs. Additionally our findings provide support for the use of “ratio estimates” to estimate fungal species richness.