The biodiversity quality of forest macrofungi and forest management

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to: review the current methods and results of measuring the macrofungal biodiversity of both saprophytes and mycorrhiza; to show root tip analysis to be less accurate for mycorrhiza than expected when the latest research reports are considered; and to provide a simple methodology for measuring macrofungal biodiversity of forests.

Design/methodology/approach

Current macrofungal biodiversity methods are reviewed. A diagram representing the relationship between the mycorrhizal fungus and the root with three axes of variation is presented. A new methodology based on fruit body recording and analysis to provide a set of biodiversity quality indices is also presented.

Findings

The results of the use of the new methodology on two adjacent sites are presented as examples. The comparison of a set of sites for the full range of indices is also presented. Suggestions of how forest management may be influenced to include macrofungal biodiversity are made.

Originality/value

This new approach is considered to be an improvement on current practice since it relates both mycorrhizal biodiversity and saprophytic biodiversity to the ecosystem function.

Citation

Feest, A. (2009), "The biodiversity quality of forest macrofungi and forest management", Management of Environmental Quality, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 21-32. https://doi.org/10.1108/14777830910922424