Diversity of macromycetes in the Białaczów nature reserve ( Central Poland )

The paper contains preliminary results of mycological research conducted in the Białaczów forest reserve, situated at the Wzgórza Opoczyńskie Upland. There are only data on macromycetes at this area. The occurrence of 167 species of macrofungi has been documented on the background of variety of tree stand and habitats. In July 2011 a heavy wind storm destroyed the tree stand and devastated the reserve. Now the area is in course of natural renovation. The data presented in the paper could be used as comparative fungal material concerning qualitative and quantitative changes.


INTRODUCTION
The topic of the study are macrofungi in Białaczów forest reserve, in reference to tree stands and habitat background.Mycological studies in Central Poland were initiated by Ławrynowicz (1973) and conducted in over 40 natural reserves (Ławrynowicz 2002;Szkodzik 2005;Adamczyk 2007).
The Białaczów reserve is one of those reserves from which collections were not published jet.The fact that it was mostly destroyed during a wind storm in July 2011, led to the presentation of the existing material.The obtained preliminary results, and the gathered herbarium documentation will be the basis for comparison and confrontation of the changes that occurred in the fungal diversity after the storm.

© The Author(s) 2014 Published by Polish Botanical Society
The upland consist of Jurassic rock, on which lay gravel monadnocks (Kondracki 2002).In the reserve two types of soil are distinguished: muck-gleyed soil in the subunit a, and both brown and poor sand-based postglacial soil in the rest of the area (Operat Urządzeniowy 1998).
The dominant plant community in the reserve is Tilio-Carpinetum calamagrostietosum and small fragments of natural riparian forests: Fraxino-Alnetum and Ficario-Ulmetum.Tree species occurring there are: Alnus glutinosa, Fraxinus excelsior, Ulmus campestris, Acer pseudoplatanus, A. platanoides, Carpinus betulus.In Tilio-Carpinetum calamagrostietosum apart from species Tilia cordata, Fagus sylvatica, Quercus robur and Carpinus betulus, there are also those that were introduced into the treestand: Betula pendula, Pinus sylvestris, Robinia pseudoacacia, Quercus rubra and Q. palustris.Hepatica nobilis, a species under strict protection have been found in the reserve, and also species under partial protection: Convallaria majalis, Hedera helix, and Pleurozium schreberi in the moss layer.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Mycological studies in the reserve were conducted in years 2006-2007, using the route method, and the permanent study plots.

RESULTS AND NOTES
Presented list contains first mycological data from Wzgórza Opoczyńskie Upland.In total, 167 taxa of macomycetes (species and forms) including 13 Ascomycota and 154 Basidiomycota were identified.
Most of the gathered species were saprotrophic fungi -118 species, which make 70% of the studied material.This shows an adequate amount of diverse substratum (leaves, needles, cones, small branches) needed for fungal growth in this habitat.44 of gathered species were mycorrhizal fungi, and 5 were parasites.From ecological point of view, most of the gathered fungi produce fruit bodies above ground (74) and on wood (62), wheares fungi on plant litter were represented by 31 species.

CONCLUSIONS
The undertaken studies in Białaczów forest reserve have shown that it is an area of high mycological diversity.Species composition of the reserve is influenced by factors like recreation usage of the area, the watercourse in it's northern part, and the community of Tilio-Carpinetum calamagrostietosum which is dominat in the reserve and riparian forests: Fraxino-Alnetum and Ficario-Ulmetum, growing in smaller amounts.The attempts to evaluate the diversity of macromycetes of the reserve, are interesting, more so because of the wind storm that had stricken the reserve in 2011, almost utterly destroying it.The received data can be the ground to evaluate the fungal changes of Białaczów reserve, and used for comparison with mycological studies in future.