Research Article |
Corresponding author: Paola Angelini ( paola.angelini@unipg.it ) Academic editor: Lorenzo Peruzzi
© 2019 Roberto Venanzoni, Enrico Bini, Emma Bricchi, Paola Angelini.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Venanzoni R, Bini E, Bricchi E, Angelini P (2019) Contribution to the knowledge of fungal diversity of the Marmore Waterfalls (Umbria, central Italy). Italian Botanist 7: 17-29. https://doi.org/10.3897/italianbotanist.7.33308
|
A list of the macrofungi collected from the Marmore Waterfalls (Umbria, Italy) is reported. In particular, a list of basidiomycetes and ascomycetes collected over a period of about ten years was compiled. A total of 125 species belonging to 78 genera, 46 families, and 15 orders were identified. Forty-four species are recorded in Umbria for the first time. Marmore Waterfalls may represent an important area for the conservation of fungal diversity, due to the presence of 34 species matching those included in Red Lists of several European countries.
Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, ecological-trophic group, EU Habitat 7220*
The Marmore Waterfalls (Terni, Umbria) are man-made waterfalls originally built by the Romans in 271 BC to divert the Velino River. Presently it is open to the public only when hydroelectric power is not being generated. With a total height of 165 m (541 feet), it is one of the highest man-made waterfalls in Italy and worldwide.
Due to the great biological richness in species and priority EU-Habitats, concentrated in about 0,86 km2, it is included within the protected natural area of the ‘Nera River Regional Park’. It is also recognized at the European level as a Special Area of Conservation and Special Protection Area (SAC/SPA IT5220017) of the Natura 2000 EU-wide network (Habitat Directive 92/43/EEC).
Among the habitats, the priority EU-Habitat 7220* [Petrifying springs with tufa formation (Cratoneurion)] is one of the most important for its naturalistic features. Petrifying springs are lime-rich water sources which deposit tufa or travertine. The emerging spring water is rich in carbon dioxide and dissolved calcium carbonate. On contact with the atmosphere, carbon dioxide is outgassed and calcium carbonate is deposited as tufa. Communities associated with petrifying springs, namely fungi, plants and animals are highly specialized due to their challenging environment (high pH, constant inundation by water and deposition of precipitated calcium carbonate) (
The specific microclimate of the Marmore Waterfalls, showing high levels of ionized water aerosols, gives rise to the presence of a significant mycological diversity, which makes the uniqueness of this Site of Community Importance even more evident. A research project has been underway in this area for about ten years, leading to the census of well over 100 species of epigeal fungi.
Fungi constitute one of the largest and most significant groups of organisms in the world. They are valuable not only for their vital roles in ecosystem functions, but also for their influence on humans and human-related activities (
With regard to human-related activities, mushrooms are also involved and/or exploited in forestry, pharmaceutical industry and food production. Hence, they represent a major economic resource worldwide (
In this paper, a checklist of fungi occurring at the Marmore Waterfalls is reported with the aim of contributing to the knowledge about the biodiversity in this area.
The Marmore Waterfalls (42°33'15.56"N, 12°42'44"E), extending over an area of about 1,59 km2 (200–360 m a.s.l.), is located in the province of Terni, the south-eastern part of Umbria (Fig.
The rock wall that gives rise to the waterfall is divided into three interspersed drops. When the waterfall is closed, ponds carved into the rock by the power of water can be seen.
The study area was located on the left side of the Nera River, specifically on a series of Pleistocene terraces characterized by fluvial-lacustrine and travertine deposits (
Mycological sampling was carried out starting in 2008. Sampling was performed monthly, in particular, along the areas adjacent to the waterfall (EU-Habitat 7220*), along the different paths that go through the Park (Fig.
Collections were made by samplings of each ascoma and basidioma. The surveys were limited to macromycetes that were visible to the naked eye (1 mm in size) (sensu
The macromycetes were identified based on macro and micromorphological features according to the descriptions available in literature (
The voucher specimens were dried in air-ventilated ovens at 30 °C for 72 h and deposited at the PeruMyc herbarium of the Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology of the University of Perugia (Italy).
Species richness was calculated as the number of taxa collected over the ten years. Macrofungal diversity was determined using Fisher’s alpha (F), Shannon (H) and Simpson (1/D) indices (
These parameters were calculated using ESTIMATES 9.1.0 (R.K. Colwell, http://purl.oclc.org/estimates). The macrofungal species were also classified into ecological trophic groups based on their primary mode of nutrition (
The Marmore Waterfalls, repeatedly surveyed from 2008–2018, showed the presence of 125 species belonging to 78 genera, 46 families, and 15 orders (Suppl. material
The largest number of orders (12), genera (70) and species (107) belongs to Basidiomycota. Eighteen species, included in 8 genera, 7 families, and 3 orders belong to Ascomycota (Suppl. material
Agaricales was the most represented order, hosting the largest number of genera, followed by Polyporales and Boletales (Fig.
The list of the species with their ecological trophic group is reported in Suppl. material
The two main trophic groups were the saprotrophs and ectomycorrhizals, with a total number of 97 and 22 species, respectively.
The saprotrophs were mainly either terrestrial (St) or lignicolous (Sh), which account for 33.6% and 29.6 %, respectively.
The other groups [Pn, Pn(Sh)] collectively represented only 4.8% of the total diversity (Suppl. material
Distribution of macrofungal species per ecological-trophic group (Em, ectomycorrhizal; Pn, necrotrophic parasite; Pn(Sh), necrotrophic parasite or sometimes lignicolous saprotroph; Sc, coprophilous; Sc(St), coprophilous or maybe terrestrial saprotroph; Sh, lignicolous saprotroph; Sh(Pn), lignicolous saprotroph or sometimes necrotrophic parasite; Sh(Pn?), lignicolous saprotroph or maybe necrotrophic parasite; Sh(St), lignicolous saprotroph or sometimes terrestrial saprotroph; St, terrestrial saprotroph; St(Em?), terrestrial saprotroph or maybe ectomycorrhizal; St(Pb?); terrestrial saprotroph or maybe biotrophic parasite).
With reference to the Umbrian Checklist of macrofungi (
Fungal community composition varied across the EU-habitat types, as shown in Suppl. material
Regarding the main trophic groups, St species ranged from 22.95% in habitat 9340 to 58.33% in habitat 7220*; Sh species were absent in habitat 6430 and ranged from 22.95% in habitat 9340 to 39% in habitat 92A0. Em species in habitat 9340 (34.42%) were more abundant than saprophic species (Sh or St). Contrarily, in habitats 91E0* and 92A0, Em species were less abundant than Sh/St species. In habitats 6430 and 7220*, Em species were absent (Suppl. material
The similarity among EU-habitat types calculated on the basis of presence-absence of fungal species (Jaccard’s index) ranged from 0.095 (EU-habitat 9340 vs. EU-habitat 92A0) to 0 (EU-habitat 9340 vs. EU-habitat 7220*) (Suppl. material
This study provided a list of 125 macrofungal species identified at the Marmore Waterfalls over the last ten years (2008–2018) in different Natura 2000 EU-Habitats. Macrofungal communities are structured by host plants/EU-habitats. Similarity was very low among EU-Habitat types, with the exception of 9340 and 92A0 which shared 9 fungal species (Agaricus moelleri, Auricularia mesenterica, Calocera cornea, Clathrus ruber, Schizophyllum commune, Lepista nuda, L. sordida, Tubaria furfuracea, T. romagnesiana).
The dominant tree species of habitats 9340 and 92A0 differed; thus, 9340 showed higher mycorrhizal species richness, while 92A0 had a higher relative number of saprotrophic macrofungi.
Despite the fact that this study is an initial qualitative survey of the macrofungi (based on the presence-absence of species) from the Marmore Waterfalls, it provided a list of 12 fungal species for Habitat 7220*, “Petrifying spring with tufa formation (Cratoneurion)”, reported here for the first time and never before documented in previous studies in Italy. In general, they are alkalotolerant species (ecological-trophic group: St, terrestrial saprotrophic) and represent, along with the bacteria, the major taxa responsible for decomposing and recycling various organic materials produced by primary producers, the resilient remains of other organisms (bryophytes, algae, protozoans, metazoans, etc.) and dissolved organic compounds (
Among the small number of ascomycetes collected during this study, there are five species reported by
Of the 34 fungal species included in Red Lists of European countries (http://www.wsl.ch/eccf/) is noteworthy the presence of: (1) Coprinopsis strossmayeri, a rare species in Italy (Suppl. material
While further study based on fruiting body abundance is needed to provide a measure of the relative importance of a species in EU-habitats, it can be concluded that this ten-year survey has demonstrated that the diversity of the fungi at the Marmore Waterfalls is remarkable, given the high number of species identified in a very small area. The data collected also contribute to draft a naturalistic plan of the Marmore Waterfalls, and provide useful information for monitoring habitats and species of European interest (as required by the Important Plant Areas program and Habitat Directive 92/43/EEC). Important Plant Areas (IPAs) are the most important places in the world for wild plant and fungal diversity, that can be protected and managed as specific sites (
Supplementary tables and figures
Data type: species data
Explanation note: Table S1. List of macrofungal species collected in the Marmore Waterfalls, Terni, Umbria. Table S2. Percentage of relative abundance and number (in parentheses) of fungal species from each ecological group in the Marmore Waterfalls EU- habitats [91E0*, Alluvial forests with Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus excelsior (Alno Padion, Alnion incanae, Salicion albae); 92A0, Salix alba and Populus alba galleries; 6430, Hydrophilous tall herb fringe communities of the plains and the mountains to alpine levels; 7220*, Petrifying springs with tufa formation (Cratoneurion); 9340, Quercus ilex and Quercus rotundifolia forests]. Table S3. Similarity of macrofungi communities with respect to EU-habitat [91E0*, Alluvial forests with Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus excelsior (Alno-Padion, Alnion incanae, Salicion albae); 92A0, Salix alba and Populus alba galleries; 6430, Hydrophilous tall herb fringe communities of the plains and of the mountains to alpine levels; 7220*, Petrifying springs with tufa formation (Cratoneurion); 9340, Quercus ilex and Quercus rotundifolia forests], reflecting similarity based on presence/absence data only (Jaccard’s index). Figure S1. Ascomycota species found in EU Habitat 7220* (Marmore Waterfalls, TR): 1) Helvella corium (O. Weberb.) Massee, 2) H. crispa (Scop.) Fr., 3) Peziza domiciliana Lantieri & Cacialli, 4) Peziza queletii Medardi, 5) Scutellinia scutellata (L.) Lambotte and 6) Tarzetta cupularis (L.) Svrček. Figure S2. Basidiomycota species found in EU Habitat 7220* (Marmore Waterfalls, Terni, Umbria): 1) Echinoderma calcicola (Knudsen) Bon, 2) Mycena galopus (Pers.) P. Kumm, 3) Parasola conopilus (Fr.) Örstadius & E. Larss, 4) Phloeomana hiemalis (Osbeck) Redhead, 5) P. speirea (Fr.) Redhead and 6) Psathyrella candolleana (Fr.) Maire. Figure S3. Coprinopsis strossmayeri (Schulzer) Redhead, Vilgalys & Moncalvo: 1) basidiocarps. Microscopic features (1000×): 2) hyphae with a joint buckle, 3) details of the veil, 4) spores.