UPM Biofore Magazine 1-2019

REIJO PENTTILÄ from the Natural Resources Institute Finland has been researching bracket fungi for over 30 years.

L ast autumn, researchers with paper bags in their hands, bent over, intently examining samples of bracket fungi could be spotted by various creatures in the forests of Southern Finland and Kainuu. Some human berry-pickers may have spotted them, too. Occasionally the researchers were joined by Reijo Penttilä of the Natural Resources Institute Finland. Penttilä leads a bracket fungus transplantation project and has been researching bracket fungi for over 30 years. He took part in collecting samples of rare bracket fungus species. “There are over 400 known species of bracket fungi in Europe. We have 250 here in Finland, and 41% of them are endangered or in need of monitoring. Percentage-wise, that’s more than any other taxonomic group. For this reason, bracket fungi are being transplanted onto dead wood in the forests of Southern Finland, where these species are most endangered. The transplantation project is being carried out by the National Resources Institute Finland (Luke) and the University of Helsinki, in partnership with UPM, Metsähallitus and the City of Helsinki,” explains Penttilä. Researchers from the University of Helsinki and Luke completed a

transplantation feasibility study using ten species over a period of nearly ten years. The results were so promising that a broader research project started last year to ensure the survival of endangered bracket fungi species. Bracket fungi are endangered in many Western countries, but their conservation through transplanting had never been studied before. Fungi fight back The ground-breaking project which began last autumn is the largest of its kind in the world. Over a period of four months, fruiting bodies of 23 endangered species of bracket fungi, such as Haploporus odorus , Amylocystis lapponica and Perenniporia tenuis , were collected from the forests of Southern Finland and Kainuu. Next August and September, wooden plugs will be used to inoculate trees in 10–20 different forest areas with bracket fungus mycelium. The forest areas will be selected in consultation with UPM, Metsähallitus and the City of Helsinki. The endangered species will be transplanted into dead wood that has

fallen naturally, and in some areas, into felled brushwood. The goal is for the transplanted species to begin producing fruiting bodies that will release spores, allowing the species to spread naturally into nearby dead wood. Penttilä explains that several species are currently so endangered in Southern Finland that transplantation might be the only way to help the population recover. “Of course, bracket fungi are only one group of species, and no single method is enough to ensure the world’s biodiversity. However, bracket fungi are an biodiversity, and their role in decomposition creates the conditions necessary for the occurrence of many other species,” Penttilä explains. “In efforts to support biodiversity, it’s important to help different species not only for their own sake, but also for the bigger picture. Species interact with each other and many of these interactions are not well understood yet.” important group — they are used as indicator species to measure forest

Species interact with each other and many of these interactions are not well understood yet.

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