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Enhancement of Croatian forest ecosystem services through assessment of fungal diversity based on DNA barcoding (ForFungiDNA) project

In Europe, Croatia is distinguished by great biodiversity due to its position on the dividing line between Continental, Mediterranean, Pannonian, and Alpine biogeographical regions. About 47% of the total land area of the Republic of Croatia is covered in forests. These are the most complex terrestrial ecosystems and contain a large number of fungal species. Fungi play key ecological roles in forest ecosystems and are indispensable for forest health and existence. Human overexploitation of natural resources, and the geographical position of Croatia in the hot-spot area for climate change, poses a great threat to the biodiversity of its forests. Fungi are by far the least-studied group of organisms in Croatia with only 25% of expected species recorded so far. The main aim of this four-year project (2018–2022), funded by the Croatian Science Foundation, is to study fungal biodiversity of Croatian forests through the DNA barcoding methods and to analyze its impact on forest ecosystem services. The goal of ForFungiDNA project is to add at least 1500 fungal DNA barcode sequences (ITS rDNA) to international bioinformatic databases (Genbank, BOLD). It is planned, as a result of fieldwork research, to collect and deposit at least 1000 new fungal samples in the Croatian National Fungarium (CNF). Finally, all species DNA barcoded in this project will be categorised in trophic groups (pathogens, saprotrophs, and mycorrhizal species), and the intensity of their impact on the forest ecosystem services will be assessed. The project results will have great potential for different applications in forestry, food industry, pharmacy, and nature conservation. Application of DNA fungal barcodes will be especially important in forestry for relatively fast and accurate identification, control, and suppression of plant pathogens, as well as for identification of mycorrhizal and saprotrophic species.

Fungi ; DNA barcoding ; forest ecosystems

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