Small plot surveying reveals high fungal diversity in the Ecuadorian Amazon – a case study

The diversity and ecology of macrofungi based on fruitbody collections in a small portion of a 25-year-old regenerating forest in tropical Ecuador was investigated over a period of 8 weeks. Maps are provided of the living trees of three 10 m x 10 m plots within the forest. All fungal fruitbodies within the plots were collected every third day, the major substrates being wood, litter and soil. There were 254 collections in total, representing 127 morphospecies of which 17 are Ascomycetes and 110 are Basidiomycetes. Wood supported the greatest number of species overall, but the mycota in the three plots of the study varied greatly, with one plot having twice as many species on litter as on wood. Using canonical analysis of principal components and permutational multivariate analysis of variance, the species assemblage in the plot with the greatest amount of standing and fallen wood was the most significantly different from the other sampling units. It is concluded that a detailed examination of even a small area can provide valuable information on the fungal diversity and assemblages of a forest. This is one of the few studies from Ecuador relating macrofungal diversity to forest structure.