Macrofungal diversity in Montado ecosystems – Management and Sustainability

Abstract

In order to discuss new management strategies and point out whose silvicultural actions ensure macrofungal communities sustainability in montado ecosystems, studies have been developed on how macrofungal richness and fruitbody production varies in relation to several vegetation factors (canopy cover, proximity of crown projection area, shrub cover and herbaceous cover). The sporocarp surveys were conducted in representative sites of the most common (cork and holm oak) open montado ecosystems in Southern Portugal. Results showed that canopy cover strongly shaped macrofungal communities composition and yield. Denser canopy cover enhanced mycorrhizal richness and reduced saprotrophic yield. Furthermore, mycorrhizal richness and yield increased with tree proximity. On other hand, mycorrhizal richness increases with tree age class and shrub cover, while saprotrophic richness increases with shrub cover and herbaceous cover. Results seem to emphasize the importance of tree and shrub vegetation layers for macrofungal community’s maintenance in montado ecosystems. Therefore, we recommend canopy cover values to be kept around 40-50 % and propose that strips and patches of natural shrubby vegetation should be retained in order to enhance macrofungal richness and yield in montado ecosystems.