New species found in Swedish forest: “More out there to find”
Experts working in a SLU-led project have discovered a previously unknown species of fungi. So far, it has been found at a single location in Hälsingland County. The unique find was made through an extensive nature survey, leading to the discovery of many species new to Swedish forests.
It’s autumn, and night falls over the old, damp spruce forest in Hälsingland. In the glow of his headlamp Raul Vicente is surveying the last sample plot of the day when he suddenly stops. It is something he hasn’t seen before, a spruce twig covered with pale brown spots. He has discovered an entirely new species of fungi.
– It is amazing and thrilling to be able to find an unknown species, says Raul Vicente, a species expert who made his discovery during a biodiversity survey through the SLU-project Key Performance Indicators – Biodiversity in Production Forests.
The new species belongs to a group of lichencolous fungi, who parasitically live on top of a lichen. Its spores are somewhat earthworm-shaped, inspiring to its name, Epithamnolia lumbricispora, where lumbris is Latin for earthworm. It is differentiated from its closest relatives by its longer spores.
– It grows on the lichen Ochrolechia microstictoides, a host none of its relatives have been found on. The more we examined the material, the more certain we became it was a new species, unknown to science, says Raul Vicente.
Together with another 23 species of lichencolous fungi new to Sweden, the discovery of Epithamnolia lumbricispora has been published in the journal Graphis Scripta.
A species deep dive for more sustainable forestry
The find was made possible through a large SLU-project where species experts have made exhaustive surveys of species groups like beetles, fungi, mosses and lichens at 240 different locations in Sweden and Finland. These are species groups that are sensitive to environmental changes, and the project aims to better understand how different conservation practices in forestry affects the forest biodiversity. The first step in this effort is to update the list of known species and where they can be found.
– We can clearly see there is more out there to find. Old forests that are least affected by forestry hide some of our most specialized and rare species, says Vicente.
Regarding lichens and licencolous fungi in particular, Raul Vicente thinks there is a good chance future discoveries are coming.
– I think our material could contain more previously undiscovered species. To make definitive conclusions on new species takes time but is something I hope we will get the chance to do in the future, says Raul Vicente.
About Key Performance Indicators – Biodiversity in Production Forests
● The KPI-project started in 2020 and is lead by SLU in collaboration with the Finnish Nature Resource Institute LUKE, Uppsala University and Stora Enso.
● The aim is to examine how biodiversity in production forests can be effectively measured, evaluated, and monitored, and what effect conservation methods like forest retention has on different forest species over time.
● Part of the project includes surveys of species groups such as beetles, lichen and fungi in 240 sample plots across Swedish and Finnish forests.
● The project is funded by Formas and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.