UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF Handbook to AGRICULTURE Strategy 1 Fungal Species FOREST SERVICE PACIFIC NORTHWEST in the Northwest Forest Plan RESEARCH STATION GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-476 OCTOBER 1999 Michael A. Castellano, Jane E. Smith, Thom O’Dell, Efrén Cázares, and Susan Nugent PHOTO ONLY AVAILABLE IN PRINTED VERSION Authors Michael A. Castellano is a research forester, and Jane E. Smith is a research botantist, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, 3200 S.W. Jefferson Way, Corvallis, OR 97331; Thom O’Dell is the regional mycologist, USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region and Pacific Northwest Research Station, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, 3200 S.W. Jefferson Way, Corvallis, OR 97331; Efrén Cázares is a senior research assistant professor, Department of Forest Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331; and Susan Nugent is a district botanist, Mount Hood National Forest, 6780 Highway 35, Mount Hood- Parkdale, OR 97041. Cover The mushroom genus Phaeocollybia is represented by 25 species in the Pacific Northwest. Phaeocollybia is placed in the family Cortinariaceae and is typified by ornamented, brown basidiospores, presence of a distinct pseudorhiza, a cartilaginous stem cortex, and a glabrous, viscid, umbonate cap. Phaeocollybia sipei A.H. Smith a strategy 1 fungus species from table C-3 in the record of decision is presented on the cover. Phaeocollybia sipei, although locally abundant at times, is rarely encountered and is known from only seven locations, all within Oregon. Photo courtesy of L. Norvell. Handbook to Strategy 1 Fungal Taxa from the Northwest Forest Plan Michael A. Castellano Jane E. Smith Thom O’Dell Efrén Cázares Susan Nugent U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station Portland, OR General Technical Report PNW-GTR-476 October 1999 Abstract Castellano, Michael A.; Smith, Jane E.; O’Dell, Thom; Cázares, Efrén; Nugent, Susan. 1999. Handbook to strategy 1 fungal taxa from the Northwest Forest Plan. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-476. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 195 p. There are 234 fungal species listed in the record of decision (ROD) for amendments to Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management planning documents within the range of the northern spotted owl. There are four strategies to established guidelines for the survey and management of various organisms, including amphibians, mammals, bryophytes, mollusks, vascular plants, lichens, arthropods, and fungi. Strategy 1 (S1) entailed compiling all known distribution and ecological information on 147 fungus species. Other strategies convey protection or encourage the collecting of additional geographic and habitat information. Upon further taxonomic examination of the S1 fungal species, it was determined that only 135 separate species existed, with the others reduced to synomomy. Most of these S1 fungal species are poorly known and uncommon to rare. A few S1 fungal species were revealed to be much more common than previously thought. This handbook was designed to facilitate understanding of the life history of all S1 and protection buffer species and to aid in their discovery and identification. Each species is represented by a condensed description, a set of distinguishing features, and information on substrate, habitat, and seasonality. We also present a list of known sites within the range of the northern spotted owl, a distribution map and additional references to introduce the available literature on a particular species. A set of artificial taxonomic keys is presented to aid the worker in identification. A partially illustrated glossary helps introduce the novice to mycological terms. Keywords: Mycology, mushrooms, sequestrate fungi, truffles, biodiversity, monitoring, rare fungi, forest ecology. Contents I Introduction M Methodology K Keys to Taxa S Species Information A Acknowledgments R Literature Cited H1 Appendix 1 H2 Appendix 2 H3 Glossary I- 1 INTRODUCTION The social and political setting leading to the development of this handbook Recent interest in conserving biological diversity has led to a Federal mandate to inventory forest organisms, previously ignored, occurring within the range of the northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina). For the first time, fungi, nonvascular plants, and invertebrates are part of forest management issues in the Pacific Northwest. The Pacific Northwest, a geographical region encompassing southeast Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, western Montana, and northern California, contains ancient (old-growth) forests that have experienced little or no human disturbance for centuries, resulting in a late-successional or climax stage in forest development (Norse 1990). Much controversy has surrounded the management and harvest of these late-successional forests during the last decade, polarizing environmental and timber harvesting groups. Legal challenges surrounding the protection of the northern spotted owl, declared “threatened” by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1990, essentially brought timber sales on Federal land in the region to a halt by 1993 (Thomas 1997). Political and legal debates over forest management plans clarified that the issue was not one of saving or maintaining viable populations of an individual species, but was centered on public and scientific concerns with the maintenance of ecosystem functions (Thomas 1997). The increased awareness that many species, in addition to the northern spotted owl, depend on this diminishing habitat helped bring about a more holistic approach to forest management. This new approach, ecosystem management, is defined by Thomas (1997) as “a concept for dealing with larger spatial scales, longer time frames, and many more variables (ecological, economic, and social) than have commonly been considered in past management approaches.” Conservation of forest fungi and the Northwest Forest Plan President Clinton took steps to end the court-ordered injunction on logging by convening a forest conference in Portland, Oregon, on April 2, 1993. Following the conference, the Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team (FEMAT) was formed to develop management alternatives (within the context of environmental laws) to balance forest conservation with the economic and social needs of people in the Pacific Northwest (FEMAT 1993). The team focused on the maintenance and restoration of biological diversity, particularly in late-successional and old-growth forests within the geographic range of the northern spotted owl. FEMAT evaluated the likelihood of maintaining sufficient well-distributed habitat on Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands to provide for continued viability of 1,119 species within eight groups of organisms (fungi, lichens, bryophytes, amphibians, mammals, mollusks, vascular plants, and arthropods) associated with late- successional forests. The panel of mycological experts identified 527 fungal species (nearly half of all species listed) as strongly associated with old-growth forests or their legacy (for example, coarse woody debris). The final supplemental environmental impact statement (FSEIS; USDA and USDI 1994a) includes additional analysis on late-successional- and old-growth-related species. It focuses on public comments to the preferred alternative (alternative 9) and addresses the following objectives: (1) identify species needing additional consideration and analysis, (2) gather pertinent information on potential impacts of forest management on these species, and (3) discuss specific mitigation measures, including their benefits and costs of implementation. I- 2 Of the 1,119 species initially considered, 715 had adequate habitat protection or were not expected to be adversely affected by the cumulative effects of anticipated land management activities, so they were dropped from further consideration. The FSEIS specifies site management for specific localities from which the original specimens of a species were collected, providing the site is within boundaries of the assessment area. The final record of decision (ROD; USDA and USDI 1994b), the document that specifies how the FSEIS will be implemented, lists 234 fungal species in table C-3 that require some level of attention under the four survey-and-manage strategies of the plan. Survey strategy 1 requires management of known sites for all species shown in table C-3. Of the 234 species, 129 are known from only one or a few sites; 80 are endemic to the Pacific Northwest, others appear more common. Sites with rare and endemic fungus species will have 64.8 hectares (160 acres) temporarily withdrawn from management activities until those sites can be thoroughly surveyed and site-specific management measures prescribed. One particular fungus, the “noble polypore” (Bridgeoporus nobilissimus), will have 240 hectares (600 acres) of habitat protected from disturbance at each known site. Survey strategy 2 requires surveys before the occurrence of any ground-disturbing activities. Two fungus species require this protective strategy: Bridgeoporus nobilissimus and Bondarzewia mesenterica (Schaeff.) Kreisel, (=B. montana (Quel.) Sing.). Bondarzewia mesenterica was inadvertently placed in strategy 2 because it was at first thought to form perennial sporocarps, it does not. The annually variable, ephemeral nature of its sporocarps limits our ability to discover it during surveys