The participation of macromycetes in selected forest communities of the Masurian Landscape Park (NE Poland)

Results of mycosociological studies in selected forests communities of the Masurian Landscape Park between 1997 and 2000 are discussed. Observations were conducted in 8 permanent plots and 69 supplementary plots (400 m2). Five plant associations characteristic of the Masurian Landscape Park, Peucedano-Pinetum, Serratulo-Pinetum, Vaccinio uliginosiPinetum, Tilio-Carpinetum and Fraxino-Alnetum, were examined. A total of 335 macromycete species were recorded. The greatest number of species was observed in Tilio-Carpinetum (198).


INTRODUCTION
The Masurian Landscape Park (MLP) was established in December 1977 in order to preserve and protect outstanding values of the natural environment of the Masurian Lake District.It aims to protect the richness of the fauna and the flora as well as the cultural and historical heritage.The Park is of great research and teaching importance and is an interesting tourist and recreation area (Dąbrowski, Polakowski and Wołos 1999).
A comparatively clean environment, climatic conditions and the occurrence of a great variety of plant communities relatively unaffected by anthropogenic influence have contributed to the high diversity of fungi and the preservation of many fungal species threatened in Poland or in Europe.
First reports on macromycetes from the area of the former German administrative districts of Sensburg (Mrągowo) and Johonnisburg (Pisz) date back to the early 20 th century (Abromeit 1905;Neuhoff 1933).Alina Skirgiełło conducted wide-ranging mycological observations in the vicinity of Kamień and Ruciane, that is in the area of the MLP at present, in the 1950s.Participants of the IV Congress of European Mycologists collected fungi in the vicinity of Mikołajki, Kamień and Ruciane in September 1966 (Skirgiełło 1968;Kotlaba, Lazebniček 1967).Studies on selected groups of macromycetes in the MLP have also been conducted by Orłoś and Dominik (1960), Domański (1963), Durska (1971), Olesiński and Wojewoda (1985).
A total of 289 taxa of macromycetes have been reported from the MLP in the available literature.No data, however, are given on the phytosociological status of their localities.
The MLP is situated on the border of three mesoregions in the physiogeographical regionalisation of Poland.The western part of the Park constitutes a fragment of the Pojezierze Mrągowskie Lake District, the eastern part belongs to the Kraina Wielkich Jezior Mazurskich Lake District, and its southern edges are part of the Równina Mazurska Plain (Kondracki 1998).
The occurrence of numerous lakes is a feature that distinguishes the MLP from other protected areas.Those are mostly large lakes whose surface area exceeds 50 ha.They comprise 22 lakes such as Śniardwy, Bełdany, Mokre or Łuknajno.A total of 60 lakes whose surface area is greater than 1 ha have been recorded in the MLP (Bajkiewicz-Grabowska 1989).
The phytosociological composition of the MLP is greatly diversified.Polakowski et al. (1976) distinguished 67 phytocoenoses in the rank of association or community based on their studies.Peucedano-Pinetum and Serratulo-Pinetum dominate among forest communities in the MLP (Polakowski et al. 1997).

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Mycosociological field studies were carried out between 1997 and 2000.Three hundred and twelve observations were conducted in 8 permanent plots (from May 1997 to December 1999) and 106 observations in 69 supplementary plots in the plant associations examined (Fig. 1).A total of 418 observations were carried out.Observations at permanent plots were conducted every two or three weeks throughout the calendar year.Observations were also made in supplementary plots established in additional patches of phytocoenoses.Supplementary plots were observed between one and eight times.The surface area of all observation plots was 400 m2 (Lisiewska 1965;Friedrich 2000).The commonly used Braun-Blanquet scale adjusted for fungi by Moser was used in the quantitative assessment (Nespiak 1959;Lisiewska 1965).The following bioecological groups of fungi were distinguished based on the type and manner of substrate utilization: mycorrhizal fungi, fungi growing on humus, litter-inhabiting fungi, fungi on wood, bryophilous fungi and parasitic fungi (Lisiewska 2000).
The herbarium material is deposited in the Herbarium of the Chair of Mycology, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn.
The mycobiota of the Peucedano-Pinetum phytocoenoses examined in the MLP corresponds to literature data; this is probably related to the characteristic species composition of Peucedano-Pinetum and its vicariant Leucobryo-Pinetum.Macromycete species associated with Pinus sylvestris dominate in both types of coniferous forests.x -which corresponds to the sum of all observations at a specific plot, is used for species producing permanent fruit-bodies; +-5 -the commonly used Moser scale in the quantitative assessment.
The greatest resemblance of the mycobiota in the association was observed in Serratulo-Pinetum (19 species in common between both associations -54.3% of the biota) and Peucedano-Pinetum (17 species in common between both associations -48.6% of the biota).It is understandable given the coniferous character of the association and the dominance of Pinus sylvestris.
Similarly to Peucedano-Pinetum, the mycobiota of Serratulo-Pinetum is one of the most mycocoenologically under-explored mycobiotas in Poland.The subboreal mixed coniferous forest occurs in northeastern Poland and sporadically in central and eastern Poland.It is known as Pino-Quercetum serratuletosum or Calamagrostio arundinaceae-Piceetum in older studies from northeastern Poland (Matuszkiewicz 2001).Data on the mycobiota of Serratulo-Pinetum are available in studies by Nespiak (1959), Lisiewska (1991Lisiewska ( -1992) ) and Łuszczyński (2007).The mycobiota in the Serratulo-Pinetum phytocoenosis is intermediate between coniferous communities and oak-hornbeam communities.Species characteristic of both coniferous communities and broadleaved communities occurred there.
The greatest similarity was observed between the mycobiota of the oak-hornbeam forest and fungi in Serratulo-Pinetum (76 species occurring in both; 38.4% of the mycobiota in the association).The number of species that occurred in Tilio-Carpinetum and other broadleaved communities was at a similar level: slightly over 20% of the mycobiota in the association.
The species composition of macromycetes in Tilio-Carpinetum has been studied intensely in Poland (e.g., Nespiak 1959;Ławrynowicz 1973;Lisiewska 1978;Gumińska 1991Gumińska -1992;;Skirgiełło 1998;Wojewoda et al. 1999;Ławrynowicz et al. 2002, Łuszczyński 2007).The mycobiota of the association examined in this study differentiates it well from other forest communities investigated in the MLP.The species composition of macromycetes in Tilio-Carpinetum is mostly consistent with fungal species occurring in oak-hornbeam phytocoenoses in other parts of Poland.
The analysis shows that the greatest similarity of the species composition and the number of species is observed between the local mycobiota of Tilio-Carpinetum in the MLP and the mycobiotas in Tilio-Carpinetum recorded in Central Poland (Ławrynowicz 1973) and the Skołczanka Reserve (Gumińska 1991(Gumińska -1992) ) and in the Tuchola Forests (Ławrynowicz et al. 2002).
The analysis of participation of individual bioecological groups of macromycetes in the phytocoenoses examined here shows differences between mycorrhizal species and saprotrophic fungi on wood.The greatest participation of mycorrhizal fungi was recorded in Peucedano-Pinetum phytocoenoses (66.7% of the mycobiota) and the smallest in Fraxino-Alnetum (12.1% of the mycobiota) (Fig. 2).The opposite ratio was observed for saprotrophic fungi on wood which was only 11.4% for Vaccinio uliginosi-Pinetum and 13.9% for Peucedano-Pinetum in coniferous associations.Their greatest values were observed for the Fraxino-Alnetum phytocoenosis (45.4% for Fraxino-Alnetum).
The ratio between the number of macromycete species and the number of plants in permanent plots in the phytocoenoses examined ranges from 1:1.81 for Vaccinio uliginosi-Pinetum to 3.79:1 for Tilio-Carpinetum (Tab.3).The data are comparable with the results obtained by Łuszczyński (2007).However, the ratio is 1:1.81 (506 macromycete species : 920 plant species) for the total number of macromycete species recorded in the MLP (the author's observations and literature data) and the number of plant species (Kruszelnicki 1996).However, the observations by Mułenko (1998) and Grzywacz (1999), revealed that the number of fungal species is much greater than the number of plant species when macromycetes are also included.

SUMMARY
Three hundred and thirty five taxa of macromycetes were recorded in the phytocoenoses examined in the Masurian Landscape Park; 354 macromycete species were observed during examinations conducted in the Park between 1997 and 2000.The total number of species reported from the Masurian Landscape Park, including literature data, is 506.
Tilio-Carpinetum (198 taxa) and Serratulo-Pinetum (171 taxa) were the richest phytocoenoses in macromycete species.This is confirmed by the relationship between the number of macromycete species occurring in them and the diversified tree-stand (the diversity of substrate available for mycelium development).
Seventy three taxa of macromycetes were recorded in Peucedano-Pinetum.The association in the study area is differentiated by a group of exclusive species (15.5% of the mycobiota of the association) such as Boletus pinophilus, Cortinarius cinnamoneus, Rozites caperatus, Russula versicolor or Tricholoma equestre as well as a group of species that it has in common with the Serratulo-Pinetum phytocoenosis (83% of the mycobiota of the association).
The species composition of macromycetes in Serratulo-Pinetum is characterised by a high participation of species in common with broadleaved communities (47.9% of the mycobiota in common with Tilio-Carpinetum) and with coniferous forests (34.7% of the mycobiota in common with Peucedano-Pinetum).32.4% of exclusive species was recorded in the continental mixed coniferous forest.

Fig. 1 .
Fig. 1.Location of permanent plots in the Masurian Landscape Park.

Table 1
Floristic-phytosociological differentiation of forest communities of the Masurian Landscape Park