Some wood-inhabiting Basidiomycota from the primeval forests with Pinus cembra in Ukraine

Abstract

The Pinus cembra communities belong to the rarest and least studied woody habitats in Europe. This article reports 30 species of lignicolous Basidiomycota revealed in primeval spruce stands with the admixture of arolla pine in Gorgany Nature Reserve (the Ukrainian Carpathians). Five species, namely Aphanobasidium subnitens, Ceraceomyces eludens, Hyphoderma occidentale, Hypochnicium albostramineum and H. cremicolor, are firstly reported in Ukraine. The records of Cystostereum murrayi, Phellinus viticola and Pycnoporellus fulgens deserve particular attention due to their value as bioindicators of natural forest ecosystems. The species composition of Basidiomycota per individual fallen log turned out to be rather poor. The fungi forming thin resupinate corticioid basidiocarps on the substrate underside prevail among the finds, indicating a lack of moisture in the surveyed treeline stands. Detailed descriptions of the substrate and collection site are given for each find. An overview of previous research on the diversity of lignicolous Basidiomycota in arolla pine forests is provided.