Acta Mycologica DOI: 10.5586/am.1112 ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER Publication history Received: 2018-06-05 Accepted: 2018-09-30 New data on aphyllophoroid fungi Published: 2018-12-28 (Basidiomycota) in forest-steppe Handling editor Anna Kujawa, Institute for Agricultural and Forest communities of the Lipetsk region, Environment, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland European Russia Authors’ contributions SV designed the research, 1 2 1 collected and identifed the Sergey Volobuev *, Alexandra Arzhenenko , Sergey Bolshakov , material; AA collected and Nataliya Shakhova3, Lyudmila Sarycheva4 identifed the material; SB 1 Laboratory of Systematics and Geography of Fungi, Komarov Botanical Institute, Russian identifed the material; NS and Academy of Sciences, Professor Popov Str. 2, St. Petersburg 197376, Russia LS collected the material; all 2 Botany Chair, Biological Department, Saint Petersburg State University, Universitetskaya authors contributed to the Embankment 7–9 Str., Petersburg 199034, Russia manuscript preparation 3 Laboratory of Biochemistry of Fungi, Komarov Botanical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor Popov Str. 2, St. Petersburg 197376, Russia Funding 4 Laboratory of Mycology, Galichya Gora Nature Reserve, Voronezh State University, Donskoye The work was supported by the village, Zadonsky District, Lipetsk region 399240, Russia program of basic research of the Russian Academy of Sciences, * Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] project “Biological diversity and dynamics of the fora and vegetation of Russia”, using equipment of the Core Facility Abstract Center of the Komarov Botanical Te data on 150 species of aphyllophoroid fungi from the Lipetsk region, Central Institute “Cell and Molecular Russian Upland, European Russia, are presented. Te annotated species list based Technologies in Plant Science”. on the herbarium collections (LE, OHHI) and observations in the Galichya Gora Competing interests Nature Reserve and in the Oleniy Nature Park, including 53 newly identifed species No competing interests have in the Lipetsk region, is provided. Te species Acanthophysellum minor was regis- been declared. tered for the frst time in Russia. Athelia nivea and Vuilleminia megalospora were observed only for the second time in the whole country. New data on ecology and Copyright notice © The Author(s) 2018. This is an distribution of species, such as Ceratobasidium cornigerum, Fibrodontia gossypina, Open Access article distributed Lindtneria panphyliensis, Peniophora lilacea, Phanerochaete aculeata, Phellinus rhamni, under the terms of the Sistotrema alboluteum, Vararia ochroleuca, and Xylodon tuberculatus, little-known Creative Commons Attribution in European Russia, are reported. License, which permits redistribution, commercial and noncommercial, provided that Keywords the article is properly cited. Agaricomycetes; biodiversity; distribution; nemoral zone; forest-steppe Citation Volobuev S, Arzhenenko A, Bolshakov S, Shakhova N, Sarycheva L. New data on aphyllophoroid fungi (Basidiomycota) in forest-steppe Introduction communities of the Lipetsk region, European Russia. Acta Mycol. 2018;53(2):1112. https:// Te nontaxonomic group of basidiomycetes, the central focus of our research and his- doi.org/10.5586/am.1112 torically named the aphyllophoroid fungi, is characterized by nongilled hymenophores, which include several morphological types, such as polypores, hydnoids, corticioids, Digital signature and clavarioids [1]. Tey have been confrmed to play a crucial role in dead wood This PDF has been certifed using digital degradation in forest ecosystems (the large number of known species are saproxylic), in signature with a trusted timestamp to assure its origin and integrity. A verifcation addition to participating in trophic chains, mutualistic relationships, and the formation trust dialog appears on the PDF document when it is opened in a compatible PDF of microhabitats [2,3]. A number of species have been proven good indicators of old- reader. Certifcate properties provide growth forests and can be used as an evidence for establishing a protected area [4,5]. further details such as certifcation time and a signing reason in case any alterations Te forest-steppe zone of European Russia is a natural area that has not been suf- made to the fnal content. If the certifcate is missing or invalid it is recommended to fciently studied in respect of the species composition and ecological features of the verify the article on the journal website. aphyllophoroid fungi. Te Lipetsk region is an area of the forest-steppe zone, which has a rather long history of mycobiota studies primarily devoted to diversity and phenology of macromycetes [6–12]. Moreover, the purposeful research of aphyllophoroid fungi has been recently initiated in this region [13]. To date, the mycobiota of the region Published by Polish Botanical Society 1 of 15 Volobuev et al. / Aphyllophoroid fungi in forest-steppe communities of the Lipetsk region includes 204 species of aphyllophoroid basidiomycetes, of which 14 species are listed in the regional Red data book [14]. Te aim of our study was to widen knowledge on the species diversity and substrate preferences of aphyllophoroid basidiomycetes in forest-steppe communities of the Lipetsk region. Because most of the territory of the Lipetsk region has been disturbed over the last century, natural forest-steppe communities have been preserved only as local fragments with nature conservation status. Most of these fragments are included in the Galichya Gora Nature Reserve, which is the core of a network of regional protected areas. It occupies an area of 2.3 km2 and consists of six separate parts (Fig. 1). Fig. 1 Te locations of territories surveyed. (A) Lipetsk region, Russia. (B) Areas studied: 1 – Mo- rozova Gora protected area; 2 – Plyushchan protected area; 3 – Te Oleniy Nature Park; 4 – Voronov Kamen protected area; 5 – Vorgolskoye protected area. Te landscape of the territory is quite heterogeneous. It includes upland steppe and forest zones based on Devonian limestone outcrops (Fig. 2, Fig. 3), rugged by the Bystraya Sosna River valley, its feeders and gullies, and partially by the Don River valley. Te reserve is covered with deciduous forest communities formed by Quercus robur, Tilia cordata, and Acer platanoides as dominant species with Betula pendula and Populus tremula as primary species, and undergrowth, which are typical for the Central Russian Upland [15]. Besides the Galichya Gora Nature Reserve, the Oleniy Nature Park was explored and should be mentioned as one of the largest and youngest protected areas in the Lipetsk region. Material and methods Our results are based on feld trips to a number of protected areas in the Lipetsk region with forest-steppe vegetation in the Galichya Gora Nature Reserve and the Oleniy Nature Park in September 2016. Material was collected from fve areas according to the classical route method (Fig. 1). © The Author(s) 2018 Published by Polish Botanical Society Acta Mycol 53(2):1112 2 of 15 Volobuev et al. / Aphyllophoroid fungi in forest-steppe communities of the Lipetsk region Fig. 2 Dead foor maple forest with lime trees in the Voronov Kamen protected area. Photo by S. Volobuev. Te Morozova Gora protected area is located on the east side of the Don River valley and covers approximately 3 km2. Te major part of it is a plain (600 m at its widest), which becomes narrower and forms a valley while going from the north to the south. Te vegetation comprises fragments of upland oak and birch forests, foodplain willow forests, meadows, and stipe-herb steppe fragments. Te Plyushchan protected area was originally a forest plot on the west side of the Don River valley, rugged by the twisting Plyushchan River from the south to the east, which surrounds the limestone-clif valley sides. Te vegetation cover mostly consists of oak and birch forests, foodplain willow forests, herb-rich steppe fragments, and pine plantings. Two areas – the Voronov Kamen and the Vorgolskoye – lie on the right side of the Vorgol River. Its valley has a canyon-like appearance and limestone-clif outcrops are quite usual along the riverside. Te typical vegetation cover types for these areas are upland lime tree and oak forests and fragments of foodplain willow forests [10]. Te Oleniy Nature Park is protected separately from the Galichya Gora Reserve and is located near the villages of Nikolskoye and Sukhodol in the Krasninskiy District of the Lipetsk region. It covers over 12 km2 and most of the territory is occupied by agricultural land, interlaced with gullies and ravines, where diferent meadow and steppe associations have formed. In addition, ravine oak and birch forests, blackthorn bushes, and shelter belts are widely represented. Some admixtures of garden trees are also found [10]. © The Author(s) 2018 Published by Polish Botanical Society Acta Mycol 53(2):1112 3 of 15 Volobuev et al. / Aphyllophoroid fungi in forest-steppe communities of the Lipetsk region Fig. 3 Limestone-clif outcrops on the bank of the Vorgol River. Photo by N. Shakhova. Abbreviations of localities studied are as follows: ■ MG1 – Morozova Gora protected area, 52°36.003' N, 38°55.527' E, postpyrogenic oak forest with maples and hazels; ■ MG2 – Morozova Gora protected area, 52°36.102' N, 38°55.196' E, foodplain willow forest with Acer negundo; ■ P1 – Plyushchan protected area, 52°49.561' N, 38°58.201' E, oak forest with birches; ■ P2 – Plyushchan protected area, 52°49.695' N, 38°58.329' E, herb-rich maple forest