Assessment of macrofungal diversity in a Silver Fir plantation in Sardinia (Italy) using a standardized sampling procedure

Abstract

The knowledge of macrofungal diversity associated with Silver Fir forests in Italy is quite scarce. Only a little information is available about macrofungal communities from some Ligurian and Tuscan Silver Fir sites. This study aims to assess the macrofungal diversity of a Silver Fir plantation in Sardinia by the application of a standardized sampling procedure. A total of 606 sporomata were collected and 52 Basidiomycota were identified. The high value of the Shannon Index indicated a considerable level of macrofungal diversity in this plantation. The results were also compared with the diversity indices obtained by a previous 3-years long sampling methodology in the same site. The comparison of the macrofungal diversity values of the Sardinian site with those of the Ligurian Silver Fir forest revealed interesting similarities among natural versus planted coniferous forests.

Keywords

• macrofungal diversity
• Abies alba
• conifer plantations
• standardized sampling procedure
• Shannon Index